R.I.P., — Rest in Peace, tall trumpet vine. You have served well for two decades.
Sadly this column bids farewell to a trumpet vine which was long ago declared the tallest of any in Wells County, Indiana. Granted there were challengers, but never the overachiever that Angelkeep grew. One competitor grew on a utility pole in an alley a half-block north of West Market Street in downtown Bluffton. It had a more impressive display of bloom, but not the stature of Angelkeep’s Wells County’s Tallest Trumpet Vine Champion.
This winning vine emerged from Angelkeep’s third — and only long-term successful — attempt to grow a vine. It could be an aggressive, invasive plant. For that reason the location chosen fell on the far side of Angelpond. Purchased potted plants were carefully planted three times. Death came early for plants one and two. Pot three included a foot-tall, thin-stick, trellis in its original potted state. The trellis remained in the pot’s soil for planting and leaned against the ash tree under which the vine had been located.
The small trellis survived two decades. It reappeared laying prostrate on the ground when the ash tree and trumpet vine crashed to the earth. Two stalks grew from the potted plant. The base of both stalks grew larger in diameter at ground level than what the pot had been when planted. Angelkeep’s trumpet vine actually formed a bark outer skin.
The vine’s end came 15 years after the ash tree’s death. Over the years the dead ash shed most of its dead limbs and branches. The trumpet vine had chosen to vine directly up the ash trunk, probably looking for sunshine. The after-death purpose of the ash tree became a vine trellis. The vine found the ash so sturdy and comforting, it attached with tiny root-like appendages into the dead ash trunk bark.
Onward it climbed. Year after year after year after year.
Angelkeep’s trumpet vine achieved such a height that its beautiful fiery blooms could be seen only by using binoculars or the zoom of a camera. The height achieved required estimations. Angelkeep possessed no ladder sufficient for a true measurement. Our guess in 2022 had it reaching 40 feet.
Through the growth of the trumpet vine, another vine, identified as poison ivy, began paralleling the trumpet vine’s twin stalks. It attached to the bark of the trumpet vine taking sustenance and water from the trumpet host. Although the poison ivy trunk grew only half the diameter of the four-plus inches of the trumpet vine, its height eventually equaled that of the trumpet.
That could also make the poison ivy vine the former champion for Wells County’s Tallest Poison Ivy Vine.
A Wells County spring storm, not an award winner but a big one, sent the dead ash tree toppling from its rotting roots. It caught itself in the branched arms of a younger ash. The ash, trumpet vine, and poison ivy hung suspended at 45 degrees, frozen in its death fall. It continued to grow. A second, windier storm failed to drop the tree the remaining distance to the ground. Being a danger, human assistance was needed to down the ash trunk. Sadly, this also meant the end of life for Wells County’s Tallest Trumpet Vine, at a time just prior to bloom.
The ash put up a good fight against the chainsaw foe operated by a seasoned woodsman. Once cleared of the second ash tree, the trio of ash, trumpet, and poison ivy yet failed to fall. It bounced in midair. They refused to drop. The force holding the massive trio proved to be a couple of stalks of wild, invasive, volunteer, honeysuckle. This plant’s stalks had achieved a three-inch diameter. Invasive honeysuckle held tremendous strength. In this case suspending an 18-inch diameter ash tree trunk of about 60 feet in height.
The chainsaw cut half-way through two honeysuckle stalks before they snapped. In turn, the taller trio ended their vertical life forever.
Angelkeep secured a tape measure prior to cutting firewood. As astonishing as the height of the trumpet vine, was the fact of how close Angelkeep’s guesstimate had been. The accurate measurement proved to be less than a half-foot shy of the estimated 40 foot for Wells County’s Tallest Trumpet Vine Champion.
Summer of 2023’s Angelkeep patio-pan-fires often consisted of pieces of ash and honeysuckle trunks. On special occasions a chunk of Wells County’s Former Tallest Trumpet Vine was offered to the smoke gods of the sky.
R.I.P. — W.C.T.T.V.C.
Mr. Daugherty is a Wells County resident who, along with his wife Gwen, enjoy their backyard and have named it “Angelkeep.”
