| Can I bring a trumpet vine in for winter? I bought one this spring to crawl on a trellis that is mostly surrounded by deck and rock, so it can only grow in a pot. With my short growing season,I would like to get a jump on next summer, but I didn't know if this was possible. If this isn't possible, can you make any suggestions? Thanks for your help. |
| A trumpet vine, campsis radicans, is rated winter hardy into zone 4, so it will take a certain amount of cold if planted in the ground. This is what I would recommend, if at all possible. You could bury the pot in a sheltered location so that the plant is out of the wind and the roots are insulated from the cold. In spring, dig it up and repot if needed. If that is not possible, you could try bringing it into an unheated garage where the roots would not freeze but the plant would be cold enough to go dormant. If you try this, keep the potting soil barely moist, meaning do not allow it to go bone dry, but do not water or fertilize the plant. In spring, as soon as temperatures begin to moderate, set it outdoors again so it can wake up with the season. You could also experiment with bringing it indoors, but this plant is such a sun lover that it might not do well during the winter as a houseplant. You might note that this plant blooms on new wood of the season, so it can be trimmed back hard each winter to stimulate additional blooming wood to grow. It is also a rampant grower and will need as large a pot as possible to do its best. Good luck with your trumpet vine. |
