Question: I have a trumpet vine that is approximately 4 years old. It likes to creep and has crept over most of my garden to the point where it has rooted and more plants are coming up. It is on an arbor and does grow up the arbor but seems to like creeping more. How do I get it to stay on the arbor?

Answer: One of my favorite horticultural authors, Michael Dirr says, "If you can't grow this, you should give up gardening because it will even grow in sidewalk cracks." It often takes a couple of years for it to get established, but once it does, it can grow rampantly, so don't fall asleep in a chair near the arbor.

Since trumpet vine (also called trumpet creeper, Campsis radicans) blooms on the new growth of the season, you can cut it back down to just a few stems that are only a couple of feet long during the winter or early spring. It will grow 10 feet or longer in just a couple of months. It can grow over 40 feet long and can root in places where the stems hit the ground. In the spring after you cut it down, you can redirect the stems to grow on the arbor. You can let it grow for several years at a time, or you can cut it down each winter to keep it under control.

It can also grow suckers that come up in even more places in the garden. They can be cut down at ground level. If they come back up again, spray the suckers with a small amount of weed killer to stop them from continuing to grow. You can try pouring boiling water on the cut off sprouts or on new suckers as they come out of the soil.

It uses two methods to cling to objects as it climbs. It has short roots that are called holdfasts. They look like tiny suction cups and they are so strong that if you try to pull the stem off a board or wall, the holdfast will stay and the stem will break away. The vine also wraps around objects like a strangler. It can look funny when the vine climbs short fence posts as the whorl of vines at the top stretch out in all directions looking for something to cling to. It should use both methods to climb up your arbor, but the holdfasts may not stick to a plastic arbor material.

Trumpet creeper vines come in several red, orange and yellow flowering versions. All are great at covering old cars or other objects that you don't want to see anymore. The trumpet shaped flower is wonderful for attracting hummingbirds.

Question: My roses and spireas have tons of aphids. I have sprayed with a rose insect killer, but they seem to come right back again. I am wondering if an organic approach using ladybugs is better. Where can I get them?

Answer: It will require some patience to turn your garden over to organic aphid control. Aphids and ladybugs have a similar prey versus predator relationship as do gazelle and lions. It requires a much larger prey population to support a very small predator population. The prey life cycle is short and abundant, while the predators live longer and have fewer young each year.

If you have a large enough predator population to maintain the prey population at low enough levels so that you don't have to spray, you will be happy. But, if there are too many aphids and you decide to spray an insecticide, you will kill some of the ladybugs, too.

The ladybug life cycle is slower and fewer young are born. The aphids are born pregnant and their population will bounce back quickly with nothing to stop them. Can you stand not to spray while the population of ladybugs grows back to the original level?

Releasing ladybugs tends to be done first thing in the spring because they can't be kept in the fridge indefinitely. Some states, like Florida, regulate which species of ladybugs are imported into the state. You will want to make sure you are even allowed to order them.

One possible season-long cure to the ladybug situation is to attract more of the naturally occurring ones from the surrounding neighborhood. The Safer brand sells Ladybug Lures that are scented to attract ladybugs to your yard. The lures also attract lacewings that are another natural predator of aphids and other soft bodied prey insect species. Besides your local garden centers, check www.planetnatural.com and www.theladybugco.com.

You don't always have to spray an insecticide. A low population level of aphids is fine. Squishing them with your hand can kill them without harming ladybugs. Spraying them off the plant with a blast of water can work well, too.

Email questions to Jeff Rugg at info@greenerview.com. To find out more about Jeff Rugg and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.