What is this plant/weed? It's ruining my garden

10 years ago

Hello, I have a plant that grows in my vegetable garden that comes up from hearty roots under the soil. I cannot find an ID from weed galleries. It grows upright until it is too tall to hold itself up. This is a photo of tall one that has already bent over and is laying on the soil. It seems to have a system of roots under the soil. Almost like a tree would. Sometimes I cannot even break it off and have to cut it back. The leaves are smallish. I'd say around an inch.

Please help.

Also, how do I get rid of this thing?

Thanks so much.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

florauk
10 years ago
Looks like Campsis radicans. Is there one nearby?
susanzone5 (NY)
10 years ago
Definitely campsis...trumpet vine. You'll have to use a brush killer spray because they will return again and again from the root, even when you think you've dug it all up.
Related Professionals
Arnold Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Belmont Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Foothill Ranch Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Hyattsville Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Mount Wilson Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Edmond Landscape Contractors · Surprise Landscape Contractors · Braintree Landscape Contractors · Cedar Hill Landscape Contractors · Concord Landscape Contractors · Cupertino Landscape Contractors · Hilo Landscape Contractors · Las Vegas Landscape Contractors · Oxnard Landscape Contractors · Tuscaloosa Landscape Contractors
Michelle Young
Original Author
10 years ago
Hmm, I'll have to go inspect the neighbors' yard. We don't have one but maybe they do on the other side of the fence that is about 10 or 15 feet away. Thanks for the direction.
Michelle Young
Original Author
10 years ago
Susan,
Will the brush killer spray ruin my vegetable garden (i.e. make it unsafe to grow food)?

Should I dig to reveal the roots and spray or just spray the soil?

Thank you.
Iris GW
10 years ago
Cut the vine where it comes out of the ground and hand dab just a bit of brush killer on the cut stump. Do not spray the soil, that is wasteful and unnecessary. Just a small amount on only the cut part.
Michelle Young
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you for the advice. I'm new at gardening as we just bought a house with a yard this past winter. I appreciate the guidance.
garystpaul
10 years ago
10 to 15 feet is nothing for a trumpet vine. Nor do they have trouble sprouting up through heavy asphalt or cracks in concrete. I happen to love them, so have to deal with the suckers, mostly by cutting them out whenever they appear and as deeply as possible. it's not all that bad, at least here in MN.

Though hardly a crusader, I myself don't use any poisonous sprays, which to my mind ultimately do more harm than good. Even small amounts of herbicide drift, e.g. from RoundUp, will cause ugly deformation of tomato and other vegetables (and more); not so great for the groundwater either. In any case, I doubt that even heavy doses of toxic chemicals will stop a determined trumpet vine.

Gary
lisanti07028
10 years ago
I get occasional sprouts of campsis in my yard, and the nearest one is on a nearby block, several hundred feet away. I'm hoping that they are coming from seeds and not from runners.
bostedo: 8a tx-bp-dfw
10 years ago
Undiluted RU brushed on the stumps is what has worked best for us without damage to neighboring plants. However, these can sink substantial roots over four feet into clay if they've been growing for a while, so leave a lot of energy in the ground for a comeback. One year after the initial removal/treatment, we still spend a couple hours a month retreating suckers and pulling seedlings along a 50 ft fence border during the growing season.... and expect we'll be doing this on a declining basis for another two or thee years.