Pruning Trumpet Vine other than in the Fall?

Question

Thank you for your clear and very helpful article on trumpet vine pruning & cutting!

Now that I’ve read it, I’m not sure how to proceed. The vine will be 1 year old in June. The wood you see in the attached picture (dated: Monday, Apr 17, 2017 @ 5:15 PM EDT in Oneida, NY) is the complete growth from last year (minus the 3-4 bamboo stakes 🙂

So, what should we do now, given we did not prune it last year?

Any and all guidance is welcome and will be received with much gratitude.

Most sincerely,
Maggie Argentine.

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Answer 1

Glad you found the article useful.

I think you have two options. You could select several strong, straight shoots that are growing now, and cut off the rest of the shoots at the base. Or, you could wait until fall and cut the whole plant back to 0-8 inches from the ground and essentially start again next spring, then proceed as if the plant is 2 years old instead of 3 next year. It does look like you have several good, strong shoots now, so going with the first option should work.