2 Questions - It’s taking over! And why are the leaves falling so soon - Ask Extension
This plant is taking over. I tried to kill it with RoundUp, chopping the root stump and pulling it out as it grows, like a weed, (I can’t keep u...
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2 Questions - It’s taking over! And why are the leaves falling so soon #714814
Asked August 18, 2020, 1:42 PM EDT
This plant is taking over. I tried to kill it with RoundUp, chopping the root stump and pulling it out as it grows, like a weed, (I can’t keep up). It attaches to everything, siding, my wood fence and other plants. It is planted on the opposite side of my fence where I have a magnolia tree so afraid anything drastic wld hurt my magnolia. Can you identify it? How can I stop it from spreading? Or kill it?
2. This tree is shedding already! I never get to see what color it will turn to in the fall because the leaves are usually gone. Is the tree sick? It is about 8 to 10 years old. Can I donate the tree to someone or to a program? It was purchased to replace a Bradford pear that split. We need shade from afternoon sun beating my front door down. Can u recommend something more colorful and less huge for my front yard?. Thank you for any help.
Charles County Maryland
Expert Response
The plant you are having difficulty controlling is Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans, a.k.a. Trumpetcreeper), a native flowering vine that is attractive to hummingbirds but which can be very aggressive in gardens. It not only grows quickly but can sucker, where sprouts emerge directly off of the root system; they can appear many feet from the original main stem. It's possible this suckering is predominantly triggered by lack of space for the top growth to attach to a support, as Trumpet Vine can grow quite large (easily 20' or more in the wild) and when there isn't enough room for this growth where it is planted, it may try to explore other options by spreading laterally.
If the plant is in a neighbor's yard (if that's where the opposite side of the fence is), then all you can do is to keep pruning back pieces of the vine that appear on your property. If the neighbor didn't plant it, you can ask about removal instead, because nothing will kill the suckers on your side without also having to kill the parent plant on the other side. If both sides of the fence are yours and the vine can be removed, cutting it down completely and treating the cut stem with systemic herbicide (by painting or dabbing it on; verify this vine is on the list of plants controlled first) will likely be the only tactic that works aside from lots of digging to get all of the roots up. If no herbicide touches the Magnolia trunk or any surface roots, it will not be harmed. If you do not wish to use herbicide, keep cutting down every re-sprout you see and eventually the root system will be too starved of energy reserves and it will stop coming back. Since they are vigorous vines, that may take more than a year.
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/trumpetcreeper
The Maple tree appears to be in good health, though it looks to be planted too deeply. We cannot tell if it's a Red Maple or one of the Red-Silver hybrids, but in either case, these are not small trees at maturity (40-50' is typical), and this tree is still quite young and won't reach it's full size for some time. We do not see an obvious cause for the leaf drop, though it does not look extensive at the moment and as such is considered normal. Many factors can stress suburban trees - both acutely and chronically - and this stress may trigger premature leaf drop in late summer. Lack of sufficient water or very compacted soil are two main suspects. This type of defoliation isn't very harmful to the tree's overall health, though ideally it should be irrigated during dry spells, especially since it's root area is dominated by lawn which competes for moisture. If its stress is reduced, it should retain leaves for long enough to change color in autumn; Red Maples usually turn red or orange-red; Silver Maples turn more yellow; their hybrids are usually red. If this was purchased as a cultivar at a nursery, the color will depend on the name of the variety, but all of the popular ones are some degree of red. Wild, seed-grown trees (such as those from a native plant nursery, perhaps) are a pot-luck with color and not all are showy.
There is no practical or inexpensive way to donate a tree of this size, and we do not know who would be interested in it. It is probably beyond hand-digging capability, given the size of its root ball needed for survival and the weight of all that soil. Professional tree-digging machines exist, but need good access to the site and would leave a small crater in the yard given how much soil they remove. They would also compact soil in the process and may be too close to those utility lines to be safe. Transplanting would have to wait until late fall or even late winter. The only way to remove this tree, unfortunately, is to have it taken down. Planting a new tree is ideal in fall, but can also be done any time the ground isn't frozen or into spring.
If you want shade for a doorway about twenty or so feet away (an educated guess from the photo), a small tree will probably not suffice because it won't have enough of a bulky or tall canopy to cast that much of a shadow. Small trees, in general, mature in the 20' range (maybe 30' after a few decades) and often have much slower growth than this maple, so it will take them longer to provide whatever shade they are capable of.
For a sunny location, small tree options include:
Miri
If the plant is in a neighbor's yard (if that's where the opposite side of the fence is), then all you can do is to keep pruning back pieces of the vine that appear on your property. If the neighbor didn't plant it, you can ask about removal instead, because nothing will kill the suckers on your side without also having to kill the parent plant on the other side. If both sides of the fence are yours and the vine can be removed, cutting it down completely and treating the cut stem with systemic herbicide (by painting or dabbing it on; verify this vine is on the list of plants controlled first) will likely be the only tactic that works aside from lots of digging to get all of the roots up. If no herbicide touches the Magnolia trunk or any surface roots, it will not be harmed. If you do not wish to use herbicide, keep cutting down every re-sprout you see and eventually the root system will be too starved of energy reserves and it will stop coming back. Since they are vigorous vines, that may take more than a year.
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/trumpetcreeper
The Maple tree appears to be in good health, though it looks to be planted too deeply. We cannot tell if it's a Red Maple or one of the Red-Silver hybrids, but in either case, these are not small trees at maturity (40-50' is typical), and this tree is still quite young and won't reach it's full size for some time. We do not see an obvious cause for the leaf drop, though it does not look extensive at the moment and as such is considered normal. Many factors can stress suburban trees - both acutely and chronically - and this stress may trigger premature leaf drop in late summer. Lack of sufficient water or very compacted soil are two main suspects. This type of defoliation isn't very harmful to the tree's overall health, though ideally it should be irrigated during dry spells, especially since it's root area is dominated by lawn which competes for moisture. If its stress is reduced, it should retain leaves for long enough to change color in autumn; Red Maples usually turn red or orange-red; Silver Maples turn more yellow; their hybrids are usually red. If this was purchased as a cultivar at a nursery, the color will depend on the name of the variety, but all of the popular ones are some degree of red. Wild, seed-grown trees (such as those from a native plant nursery, perhaps) are a pot-luck with color and not all are showy.
There is no practical or inexpensive way to donate a tree of this size, and we do not know who would be interested in it. It is probably beyond hand-digging capability, given the size of its root ball needed for survival and the weight of all that soil. Professional tree-digging machines exist, but need good access to the site and would leave a small crater in the yard given how much soil they remove. They would also compact soil in the process and may be too close to those utility lines to be safe. Transplanting would have to wait until late fall or even late winter. The only way to remove this tree, unfortunately, is to have it taken down. Planting a new tree is ideal in fall, but can also be done any time the ground isn't frozen or into spring.
If you want shade for a doorway about twenty or so feet away (an educated guess from the photo), a small tree will probably not suffice because it won't have enough of a bulky or tall canopy to cast that much of a shadow. Small trees, in general, mature in the 20' range (maybe 30' after a few decades) and often have much slower growth than this maple, so it will take them longer to provide whatever shade they are capable of.
For a sunny location, small tree options include:
- Redbud (Cercis canadensis) - rosy, pink, or white spring flowers; some have plum-purple or golden-yellow foliage in summer; autumn leaf color is yellow
- Crepemyrtle (Lagerstroemia) - pink, purple, red, or white flowers in mid- to late summer; some have colorful bark; autumn leaf color varies but is usually a good mix of red-orange or orange-yellow; some varieties have purple-black summer leaf color, but these should not be expected to have showy autumn leaf color
- Flowering, Kousa, or hybrid Dogwoods (Cornus florida, Cornus kousa) - spring flowers white or light to dark pink; native types are stressed by full sun, so not the best choice, though they will tolerate it; Kousa types and hybrids are more tolerant of full sun; all get good red-maroon autumn leaf color
- Corneliancherry Dogwood (Cornus mas) - very different-looking than other dogwoods in bloom, with very early spring flowers in yellow; red berries in summer; purplish-red to orange autumn leaf color
- Shantung Maple (Acer truncatum) - new growth can have a purplish-red tinge; red, orange, or yellow autumn leaf color; not native but more adaptable to suburban stresses
- Fringetree (Chionanthus) - fragrant white flowers late spring; golden-yellow autumn leaf color
- Stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia, S. koreana, S. rostrata) - white flowers late spring to mid-summer, depending on species; flaking, mottled-color bark; autumn leaf color in the red range, sometimes with orange, plum, or yellow
- Serviceberry (Amelanchier) - white mid-spring flowers; orange-red autumn leaf color; usually a multi-trunked tree but can be found single-trunked
Miri
Thank you ever so much Miri for your very thorough most helpful response.
One last question. Does one have a tree like this shaped professionally? Although I want the shade it provides, I want it to look a little more maintained
You're welcome.
The tree's canopy looks fine with regards to health and shape, and ideally should not be trimmed into a denser, more even shape (akin to a "lollipop," so to speak) as this might allow for conditions more conducive to disease in wet years (from reduced air circulation among the leaves). Additionally, every cut made to remove a branch comes with the possibility of infection or infestation of the wood by insects later in the tree's life if the wound does not seal properly for some reason and moisture compromises the wood. Due to this, tree pruning needs to be evaluated carefully before it is carried out, so consulting a professional arborist or tree-care company (both for opinions and the pruning itself) is recommended.
They might be able to shorten a few of the canopy branches and limb-up the lower branches (remove them to let more light underneath the canopy, or create more head room underneath, if needed) with few deleterious effects to its overall health. If you communicate your preferences regarding how the tree looks now versus how you'd like it to look, the arborist should be able to determine if those adjustments are advisable.
Miri
The tree's canopy looks fine with regards to health and shape, and ideally should not be trimmed into a denser, more even shape (akin to a "lollipop," so to speak) as this might allow for conditions more conducive to disease in wet years (from reduced air circulation among the leaves). Additionally, every cut made to remove a branch comes with the possibility of infection or infestation of the wood by insects later in the tree's life if the wound does not seal properly for some reason and moisture compromises the wood. Due to this, tree pruning needs to be evaluated carefully before it is carried out, so consulting a professional arborist or tree-care company (both for opinions and the pruning itself) is recommended.
They might be able to shorten a few of the canopy branches and limb-up the lower branches (remove them to let more light underneath the canopy, or create more head room underneath, if needed) with few deleterious effects to its overall health. If you communicate your preferences regarding how the tree looks now versus how you'd like it to look, the arborist should be able to determine if those adjustments are advisable.
Miri
