Trumpet Vine

Trumpet Vine -- Campsis radicans. Trumpet Vine, sometimes called Trumpet Creeper, is a member of the Bignoniaceae family and is a wild flower that often grows along the sides of roads where it can cling to other bushes and trees in or near ditches. This perennial vine flower, native to the south eastern USA, features trumpet-shaped blooms in a variety of shades of yellow, orange and red. This fast-growing vine uses aerial roots to ascend walls, fences, trees, and bushes and can reach up to 40 feet high. The vines spread and multiply via underground runner roots as well as via bean-like pods which burst open, spreading seeds on the ground.

Trumpet Vine is a fast-growing perennial that requires very little care once established. The trumpet vine is a woody, deciduous, dense, dynamic, multi-stemmed clinging vine that readily attaches itself to almost any vertical structure. Clusters of red trumpet-shaped flowers, up to three inches in length, grow throughout the summer months. The vine’s flowers produce rich nectar and are very enticing to hummingbirds, making the vine a popular choice for humming -bird gardens. After flowering, the vine grows three- to five-inch-long seed pods that split open and release a two-winged seed that is easily dispersed by the wind. The vine’s dark green, odd-pinnate leaves can grow up to 15-inches long, with each leaf having seven to 11 elliptical-shaped leaflets up to four-inches long with serrated edges. Leaves become yellow in fall. Trumpet-vine soil requirements are ideally a rich, loamy, well-draining dirt, and is an excellent choice for hot, dry areas. However, the flowing vine is resilient enough to adapt and grows readily in any soil. On average, it takes three to four years for the trumpet vine to begin producing blooms. The only care the trumpet vine requires is water, as needed, and pruning. Trumpet vine usually does not need fertilizer. Native to the southeastern United States, the trumpet vine will thrive in hardy-planting. In the wild, trumpet vine typically occurs in wooded thickets and fields, along roadsides and waterways. Trumpet vine has many uses in landscaping, including woodland gardens and naturalized areas; ground cover and erosion control; disguising unattractive fences and camouflaging old tree stumps and rock piles; decorating mailboxes, trellises, lampposts, screening walls and rambling stone walls; adding fall color; and providing roofing shade over arbors.