Description
Form: A rambling vine, or shrub, depending on placement and pruning.
Lifespan: Perennial
Leaf retention: Evergreen but cold-deciduous.
Growth rate: Rapid, vigorous.
Mature Size: Up to 50' (15m) long.
Flowers: Trumpet-shaped with five flared pink to white lobes, red veins radiating
from inside, slightly fragrant.
Bloom: Spring to fall with a pause during summer in hot regions.
Northern climates experience blooming late summer into fall.
Fruit: A long, flat seedpod containing winged seeds. Few seedpods are produced.
Leaves: Glossy green, lance-shaped leaflets.
Stems: Woody, producing roots where it touches the soil.
This plant will need to be tied to a trellis when used as a vine because it has no tendrils,
aerial rootlets, or thorns to assist climbing.
Roots: Taproot.
Wildlife: The flowers attract bees.
Toxic / Danger: No.
Origin: Southeast Africa.
Cultivation and Uses
USDA hardiness zones: 9-11. It loses its leaves somewhere below 30°F
(-1.1°C) and may survive to 20°F (-6.7°C).
In zone 8 it dies to the ground in winter but may come back from its roots in the spring.
Heat tolerant: Yes.
Drought tolerant: Yes, after one or two years of regular water.
Sun: Full sun. Part shade results in leggy growth and fewer blooms.
Soil: Well draining, pH 6.1-7.8 (slightly acidic to slightly alkaline).
Water after becoming established: This plant needs regular water in the first one
or two years until it develops an extensive root system.
Then it can get by with only monthly water.
Mulch: Use organic mulch over the root area before the first predicted freeze.
First Year Care: Water every one or two days when first planted, then gradually
reduce to once a week. Water weekly for the first year or two to establish a strong root
system. Protect from freezing. Water only once a month in winter.
Planting: Pink Trumpet Vine can be grown in a large container but will perform
better in the ground.
Prune: Trim back yearly in winter to induce flowering.
Litter: Low.
Propagation: Cuttings, layering. This plant naturally self-layers.
Uses: Ornamental, trellis vine, shaped into a hedge.
Comments
This plant is a member of the Trumpet Creeper family (Bignoniaceae).
It has the unusual reputation of becoming a low water plant after one or two years of
developing an extensive root system with regular watering.
Do you have additional information or a different experience for these plants that you would
like to share? Email info@GardenOracle.com. All contributions are welcome and appreciated.