Hi! I'm a new homeowner and this plant grows up in my kitchen porch. It is woody towards the base and then just green as it goes up. It's not a vine, but it climbs up the wooden support with what appears to be some type of secretion that hardens and holds the plant up as it grows. What is this and should I cut it? Thanks in advance!
Edit: for reference, I live in NE Ohio

Campsis radicans/Trumpet Vine

Trumpet Vine can be very aggressive in moist climates and it might be best not to encourage it, especially around structures. Hopefully someone in your area can weigh in. In my dry climate it's quite well behaved, but I've read many horror stories from others about trying to get rid of it. That's a pity, because bees and hummingbirds love it. There are some cultivars that don't spread so much, but it's hard to identify them without the flowers.

I agree it's trumpet vine and it can get huge and also send runners out everywhere. The pros are that it's a native plant and hummingbirds really like the blooms so if you like it you can try to keep it in check. Not sure how old yours is but I think they take a number of years before they are established enough to bloom.

Thank you so much! It has no flowers as of yet so perhaps it's not old enough. I do like it, just have to decide if it's worth the upkeep. I can already see paint damage where it has secured itself to the wood, though I need to paint anyway so no worries there.

Danita's right, they get huge... very fast! I cut mine back hard every year. I'm pretty sure mine bloomed the first year from 1-gallon pots. They do need LOTS of sun and very little water.
I'm also pretty sure that some cultivars aren't as aggressive as the native. Maybe you'll be lucky

That yellow one is really pretty. I bought 4 bare root plants that were supposed to be bignonia this year and when they got their leaves they all turned out to be trumpet vines so now I've got 4 of them I have no idea what I'm going to do with. Thankfully the seller gave me a refund so I'll probably just give them away and maybe keep one.

I had to look up bignonia. No wonder you wanted it!

NMoasis said:I had to look up bignonia. No wonder you wanted it!

I have 2 tiny starter plants of it but it's going to be a long time before I see any blooms so I was really disappointed in that happening! The 2 are closely related, though.