Trumpet vine

Plant Characteristics

Lifespan:	⌛	[[Lifespan::Perennial]]
Origin:	✈	SE United States

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	Sun"Sun" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property., part-sun
Water:	◍	Regular to moderate"Regular to moderate" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.
Features:	✓	Flowers, Hummingbirds
Sunset Zones:		2-21, 26-41

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. Figs. 773, 774. 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. B.M. 485. Gn. 22, p. 339. F. 1873, p. 220. A. F. 12:34. Mn. 2:9. 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.

External links

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trumpet_vine
• Campsis radicans images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu