Trumpet vine

Rapid climber with exotic flowers

Rich blooming and spectacular colours: it’s lovely to spend an Indian summer in the company of the trumpet vine. Soon you’ll feel like you’re in a maharajah’s garden.

At the end of a long summer the trumpet vine (botanical name: Campsis) is a real feature in your garden. This climbing shrub only comes into bloom later in the year, and they do this with large red, orange or yellow trumpet-shaped flowers that can be up to 8 cm long. This garden bloomer does best against a sunny fence or wall, but there is also a half-standard trumpet vine that looks fabulous in a pot like a small tree with hanging branches. These can grow up to 150 cm tall. The trumpet vine is also available as a tree that can reach a height of around 4 metres. As a climber the trumpet vine can be up to 4 metres wide and 8 to 12 metres high. The flowers attract many bumblebees, honeybees and insects, and the flowers blend perfectly with nature's changing colours as October approaches. 

East/West

The trumpet vine is a member of the bignonia family, comprises two species: Chinese Campsis grandiflora, and Campsis radicans that grows in the south-east United States. Both species mainly grow in forests and amonngst bushes.

Trivia

  • The warmer the summer, the more profusely the trumpet vine will flower.
  • The scientific name Campsis derives from the Greek word ‘kampe’ which means ‘bent’ and which refers to the branches that bend under the weight of the profusion of flowers.
  • In the symbolism of plants the trumpet vine represents ‘a fresh start’, referring to the beginning of autumn.