Weekly Garden Thread - June 3-9, 2023 ['Shady Characters' Edition]

June 3, 2023 | Diana in WI/Greeneyes in Memoriam

[Diana in Wisconsin]

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you.

If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located.

This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked.

It is impossible to hijack the Weekly Gardening Thread. Planting, Harvest to Table Recipes, Preserving, Good Living - there is no telling where it will go - and that is part of the fun and interest. Jump in and join us! Send a Private Message to Diana in Wisconsin if you'd like to be added to our New & Improved Ping List.

NOTE: This is a once a week Ping List. We do post to the thread during the week. Links to related articles and discussions which might be of interest to Gardeners are welcomed any time!

[Pollard]

M = Mole = Meat Eaters Moles eat earthworms, grubs, and insects. As moles tunnel, they make visible raised tunnel ridges, volcano shaped mounds of soil, and have a closed tunnel system without an entrance hole

V = Vole = Vegetarian Voles eat roots, bulbs, seeds, bark and foliage. Voles have open entrance holes, and their tunnels are not raised ridges.

I definitely have raised soil ridges so I have moles - eating my earthworms. Wonderful.

[FamiliarFace]

Yes! Ours are the Early Amethyst type. I really hope they decide to thrive where we’ve put them.

[FamiliarFace]

That is such a cute butt shot!

[Red Badger]

They grow wild around here!
I consider them weeds!..................😜

[FamiliarFace]

Lucky duck!

[Red Badger]

I want to propagate my trumpet vine this year.

Why?....It will propagate all by itself!...........🤦‍♂️

[Danie_2023]

“Why?....It will propagate all by itself!...........🤦‍♂️”

No, apparently it won’t....since it hasn’t for the past ten years.

[Red Badger]

Are we talking about the same plant?

From BRAVE Summerizer AI:

Trumpet vine (Campsis radicans) is a native North American plant with glossy dark green elliptical leaves that grow up to 15 inches long, with seven to 11 serrated leaflets. It has clusters of trumpet-shaped red, orange, or yellow flowers that appear during the summer months and reach around 1 to 3 inches long before giving way to bean-like seed capsules.

Trumpet vine is often cultivated for its attractive, reddish orange flowers but can escape cultivation, sometimes colonizing so densely it seems a nuisance, particularly in the southeast, where its aggressive habit has earned it the names Hellvine and Devil's Shoestring.

The woody perennial vine can take over a yard in a single season in the warmest, wettest places, growing 30 and 40 feet tall and covering trees and fences faster than you say “Damn that invasive plant!” If you're not vigilant, trumpet vine can escape your yard and choke out other plants in the surrounding landscape. With adequate care and pruning, trumpet vines can be kept under control.

[Danie_2023]

Yeah, I think it’s the same plant. I bought it (two plants) online about 11 years ago, planted it and it has grown to where it took over my back fence. One I planted by a tree next to the patio, but that one has gradually died off probably due to too much shade. I have tried planting the seeds but didn’t use stratification.

Thought I’d try cuttings this year, since the grapevine and blue sky vine cuttings worked pretty well. I’m no expert gardener, by any means, but I am also no novice. The seeds that drop from the vine have never grown new plants for some reason.

[Red Badger]

There was a horror movie a few years back called ‘The Ruins’, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ruins_(film), where there was a monster vine in a Ancient Mayan pyramid. I think they used the Trumpet Vine for the ‘star’.....................

[MomwithHope]

Used udder balm for over 25 years as we had dairy goats. Kept it down at the barn but now I have a much smaller tin up in the office. Agree, great stuff.

[Danie_2023]

Yes, I saw that movie but I think the leaves on that vine were different.

The vine is beautiful in April. I’d like to plant it in a couple of other places along another fence. Just need to get some viable cuttings that will grow.

[Red Badger]

We were warned as children not to touch the plant or flowers as it was poisonous......................

[Danie_2023]

“We were warned as children not to touch the plant or flowers as it was poisonous......................”

Well, I have handled it and harvested the seeds (that didn’t grow)...with no problems. Maybe mine is a different type of trumpet vine, but it looks the same. The flowers are an apricot orange color.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Well, there goes your ‘extra income stream’ selling worms to fishermen in the area! ;)

[Red Badger]

According to BRAVE AI it is toxic to people and animals:

The entire plant is poisonous to animals, starting from the flower to the stem, and can cause gastrointestinal issues, excessive drooling, convulsions, and heart problems. The toxin is predominately in the bulbs, but all parts of the plant are poisonous.

So, be careful!...................

[FamiliarFace]

I was always taught they were poisonous, too, though I grew up in Florida, so I wonder if yours is the same plant. Lucky you either way!

[Red Badger]

I grew up in Mississippi, and we called them ‘Cow Itch’. They grew wild along roadsides and up into trees like Kudzu.

We have them in Florida, too, and all across the Southeast.

That’s why I couldn’t understand Danie_2023’s post of wanting to ‘propagate’ them.

Heck, you can’t stop them! Once established, you need a flame thrower, bulldozer and a gallon of Roundup to kill them!................

[FamiliarFace]

Speaking of kudzu, last time we drove through N Carolina (early May), there were lots of dead trees with kudzu hanging off them still. They haven’t figured out how to kill that stuff yet, have they?

[Red Badger]

It is immortal.....................