Trumpet vine

Plant Characteristics

Habit		vine-climber
Height:	⇕	32 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 32.
Width:	⇔	32 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 32.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial
Origin:	✈	SE United States
Bloom:	❀	early summer, mid summer, late summer

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun, part-sun
Water:	◍	wet, moist
Features:	✓	deciduous, flowers, hummingbirds
Minimum Temp:	☃	-30°F238.706 K <br />-34.444 °C <br />429.67 °R <br />
USDA Zones:		4 to 10
Sunset Zones:		2-21, 26-41
Flower features:	❀	red, orange

Scientific Names

Bignoniaceae >

Campsis >

radicans >

The Trumpet vine or Trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), also known as "Cow itch vine," is a large and vigorous woody vine of the family Bignoniaceae, notable for its showy trumpet-shaped flowers. It is native to woodlands of the southeastern United States, but is a popular garden perennial plant across much of the country as some cultivars are hardy to as low as -30°F/-34°C.

The leaves are ovate, pinnate, 3–10 cm long, and emerald green when new, maturing into a dark green. The flowers come in terminal cymes of 4–12, orange to red in color with a yellowish throat, and generally appear after several months of warm weather. The plant as a whole may grow to 10 meters in height.

The flowers are very attractive to hummingbirds, and many types of birds like to nest in the dense foliage. The flowers are followed by large seed pods. As these mature, they dry and split. Hundreds of thin, brown, paper-like seeds are released. These are easily grown when stratified.

The vigor of the trumpet vine should not be underestimated. In warm weather, it puts out huge numbers of tendrils that grab onto every available surface, and eventually expand into heavy woody stems several centimeters in diameter. It grows well on arbors, fences, telephone poles, and trees, although it may dismember them in the process. Ruthless pruning is recommended. Outside of its native range this species has the potential to be highly invasive, even as far north as New England.The trumpet vine thrives in many places in southern Canada as well.

Alternate scientific names have included Bignonia radicans and Tecoma radicans.

Read about Trumpet vine in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Campsis radicans. Seem. (Tecoma radicans, Juss. Bignonia radicans, Linn.). Trumpet-creeper. Trumpet-vine, trumpet-honeysuckle. High-climbing shrub, clinging with rootlets: lvs. odd-pinnate; lfts. 9-11, oval to ovate- oblong, acuminate, serrate, dark green above, pale and pubescent beneath, at least along the midrib, l½-2½ in. long: fls. in terminal racemes; corolla tubular-funnelform, about 3 in. long, with 5 spreading lobes, usually orange with scarlet limb, tube almost thrice as long as the short-toothed calyx: fr. cylindric-oblong, keeled along the sutures, stalked and with a beak at the apex, 3-5 in. long. July- Sept. Pa. and Ill. to Fla. and Texas. Var. atropurpurea, Voss (var. grandiflora atropurpurea, Hort.). With large, deep scarlet fls. Var. speciosa, Voss. Scarcely climbing, usually forming a bush with long and slender branches: lfts. small, oval, abruptly narrowed into a slender point often ¾in. long: fls. orange-red, with rather straight tube; limb about 1¼ in. across. Var. praecox, Schneid. Large scarlet fls. in June. Var. aurea, Hort. Fls. yellow. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Cultivation

Succeeds on a warm wall in a good loamy soil¹ in full sun¹⁶⁶ or light shade^RH. Plants can become rampant when growing in rich soils^RH. A very ornamental plant¹, it is hardy to about -20°c according to some reports^184RH whilst another says that it is not hardy in all parts of the country but it succeeds in more open positions such as a pergola or an old tree in the southern part of England¹. Plants require the extra warmth of a sunny wall to induce better flowering¹⁸⁴. Plants are self-clinging by aerial roots like ivy but are best if given some support¹¹⁶⁶. Any pruning is best done in the spring¹⁸⁸. The seed only ripens outdoors in Britain in hot summers¹¹. There are some named forms selected for their ornamental value²⁰². Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus^RH.

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse at 10°c. Two months stratification at 5°c assists germination^RH. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of almost ripe wood, 7 - 10cm long, July/August in a frame. Slow to root but a fair percentage^78RH. Root cuttings 5cm long in December. Fair to good percentage⁷⁸. Suckers, removed in the dormant season.

Pests and diseases

Fungal leaf spots, powdery mildew, scale insects, mealybugs, whiteflies^AH.

Cultivars

form 'flava' (syn. Yellow Trumpet) produces yellow flowers.

Gallery

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
• American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432

External links

• w:Trumpet vine. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Trumpet vine QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)