Hot Vine for Summer

You'll get plenty of blooms, even when the temperature soars.

If patience is not your virtue, you need to plant Chinese trumpet creeper (Catnpsis grandiflora). Guaranteed to provide shade in one season, this quick-growing vine is great for those who wish they had started yesterday. Plus, its flowers attract hummingbirds.

Eager To Please

Tough and heat tolerant, Chinese trumpet creeper is not as vigorous as its native relative, common trumpet creeper (C. radicans). More reserved in nature, it actually makes the better garden guest, with big trumpet-shaped flowers in shades of orange, red, and peach from now until fall. Under ideal conditions, it will grow to about 30 feet in length-perfect for covering an arbor or softening a stark privacy fence.

Social Climber

Each leaf of this vine is actually made up of smaller medium-green, glossy leaflets. Together, they have a coarse texture, making this vine great for screening. Though Chinese trumpet creeper climbs with the aid of aerial rootlets, they are less abundant and aggressive than those of its common cousin. For best results, provide additional support by tying the vine to a structure with stretch string, twine, or coated wire.

Cut and Come Again

For those who love to prune, this vine is very forgiving and even thrives when given a good whacking back. To control the size and stimulate flowers, which appear on new stems, cut back hard in early spring. Wear long sleeves and gloves, because the flowers and leaves of this plant can irritate the skin. Occasional summer trimmings are okay, but it is less likely to repeat bloom than common trumpet creeper.

Thriving in both alkaline and acid soil and dry or moist conditions, the vine requires only a little sun. If more plants were this easy to grow, a lot of garden writers would be out of a job.

-REBECCA BULL REED

For More Info

Blooms that beat the heat: southernliving.com/july2007

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Jul 2007
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