Where to Plant Balboa Sunset Trumpet Vines in Northern Minnesota

Geography

• Northern Minnesota is located in U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zone 3 where average winter minimum temperatures exceed the survival threshold for the Balboa Sunset trumpet vine. Gardeners must select a warmer microclimate to plant this vine or take precautions in winter to help the plant survive while dormant.

Insight

• Plant the trumpet vine in a wind-protected area of your landscape, ideally at the base of a building or stone wall facing the south. This microclimate is warmer in winter, and proximity to the wall diminishes penetration of frost and cold into the soil that kills the plant roots. If the roots survive, the vine resprouts in spring and produces flowers by midsummer.

Considerations

• Besides planting on the southern side of a building out of winds, consider laying a 24-inch layer of straw or coarse mulch over the dormant Balboa Sunset plant from November to early April in northern Minnesota.

Potential

• Besides planting on the southern side of a building out of winds, consider laying a 24-inch layer of straw or coarse mulch over the dormant Balboa Sunset plant from November to early April in northern Minnesota. This provides additional insulation preventing the roots from dying in the cold and diminishes fluctuations between freezing and thawing of soil on the sunny southern wall exposure.