A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum planted trumpet vine/hydrangea tree...

The trumpet vine I bought from Wally World - weeks ago, it's still just a 'stick' with no growth. How long? I want to dig it up and peek at the roots to see if there's anything happening, or should I just be patient?

By the way - my hydrangea tree I planted a few weeks ago had green buds alllll over it! I'm so excited!

I'm a scratch and peek girl. I scratch a small area of the stick or branch and look for green growth

Don't disturb the roots of your plant. They need to be established before anything can happen above ground. The way to check if a woody perennial is alive above ground is to cut a tip of a back branch off. Living woody material has a bright green ring under the bark layer and is white looking ( picture the inside of an asparagus spear when it's snapped).

A woody perennial can take some years to become a fully established and flowering plant. Disturbing any part of the root system now will just set the plant back the same as if it was unearthed and replanted.

okay - thanks!

That method is being discouraged as it weakens and leaves the plant open to attack from insects and disease. When the green protective barrier is scratched it gives off a chemical reaction that can be "read" by damaging insects and disease.

For some reason a plant can quickly seal off with a protective coating any clean cut.

Believe me the trumpet vine will take off. I have one along a side fence and it's very invasive. I can't get rid of it or kill it. It sends out runners, will grow anywhere. So becareful where you put it, it will expand and once planted into the ground, it's there forever!
joyce