Passion flower vine gone ape!

[Persephone]

Awkward situation:

I planted this vine about 2-3 years ago. It didn't do anything until this year, when it went totally ape. It's crawling along my clothes lines and falling over other plants.

I had been training it up the garage wall and along the front of the wall with those clear plastic discs that you stick on the wall and thread twisties through, but it has become so heavy that it tears the discs off the wall, falls down, and crushes plants below it.

I can't go to the expense and trouble of having a heavy- duty trellis built up against the garage wall jus tto salvage this crazed vine, though I like the flowers; that's why I planted it in the first place. .

Nor can I make holes in the garage roof for anchors to hold the vine and eventually let it sprawl (more or less) across the garage roof.

Should I have a worker hoist something heavy onto the garage roof to serve as anchor? If so, what?

Should I cut back the vine to manageable proportions? (Sounds dubious, looking at it, but...)

Is there a solution out there that's so obvious, I'm missing it?

What to do, what to do?

Persephon

[betsyb]

Maybe a wooden ladder if you see one someone is tossing out? Have them screw a 2X4 into the roof and place the ladder behind it? Might also attach the ladder to the wood piece. Betsy

[Myrl Jeffcoat]

I had a similar problem a few years back. I was fortunate enough to have a friend that was in the Home Improvement business. He gave me an

8 foot section of black rot iron railing, that someone was going to junk. I installed it vertically against a back fence, and it provided a wonderful solution. The vine was a hybrid Flying Saucer Morning Glory. . .I think!

Myrl Jeffcoat

[Persephone]

I posted a picture of the disaster on alt.binaries.pictures.garden under same subject:

Any more ideas?

Problem is, I'm afraid to make holes in the garage roof.

TIA

Persephone

:

[Persephone]

[...]

Trimmed the rest of the original post, because everybody advised me to trim it back rather than try to anchor on garage roof, etc. Thanks, y'all!

I did trim it sternly, but it looks messy. What if I cut it back to the trunk? Will it come back? If it does, I promise I'll keep it trimmed!

Any experience out there?

This is So.Calif coastal.

Tx

Persephone

[kate]

I'm in TN but since babying the Passion Flower one year, it now comes up everywhere. The roots send out runners.

Kate - but I still hate to mow it

[Hal]

I'm in Georgia and keep two half barrels with passion flower vines for larvae food for the gulf fritillary butterfly. It is possible to starve the roots enough they won't have the energy to emerge next season. I had that happen a couple times before I got the pots. The larvae would eat the vine and leave a few sprigs as the frost set in and caused it to go dormant, but wouldn't leave enough for storing food energy in the root.

They are often called maypop here and I understand it is because the underground root may pop up anywhere. I have maypop's all over the yard this year because of the fruit dropping off in places I didn't find and the seed producing new plants.

I probably have a different variety from the OP, mine is the wild variety that is found up the East coast from Florida to Maine.

Regards,

Hal

[kate]

I discovered the root system when I was transplanting some for a friend. I was expecting to dig up the root but a few inches down it went sideways and seemed to continue on forever, perhaps not unlike Trumpet Vine, which I tried to get started here for years and now sort of regret it.

Kate

[Hal]

I dug some out of one of the half barrels a couple times and that worked better than trying to dig enough root for one that wasn't confined. It is much easier to plant the seed in a small pot, than dig root anyway.

I never tried the trumpet vine. I don't know of a butterfly that needs them and really, I'm glad. The cypress vine on the fence for hummingbirds is invasive enough.

Regards,

Hal

[kate]

I've never heard of cypress vine - I'm sure that's a good thing.

Kate