Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 10:22:18 -0400
Reply-To: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in the Southeast <HUMNET-L@LISTSERV.LSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: [HUMNET-L] Campsis radicans

So how long does it take for Trumpet Creeper to bloom? I found I have it
all over my yard, but evidently it was all cut down just before I moved in last
year. I am letting it grow in a number of places, but will I be entering
my retirement years before it blooms. Does anything seem to speed it up?

Ann McAllister
Pine Lake, GA (Atlanta)

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Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 10:15:28 -0500
Reply-To: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in the Southeast <HUMNET-L@LISTSERV.LSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: [HUMNET-L] Campsis radicans

Ann, the trumpet creeper, Campsis radicans, at Winter Hummer Land, our
Gramercy, LA yard, was purchased in a pot when it was about 24 inches tall
with a sturdy stem, about 1/2 inch in diameter. It was planted next to the power line pole. It bloomed the fourth year after it was planted. The lady who planted it was ready to cut it down and give up after three years. I told her I had heard that it could take up to seven years for it to bloom. I don't know where "seven years" came from.

So, she left it and it bloomed the fourth year. Then the power people cut
it to the ground.

It immediately came back up and grew back to the top of the 25 ft. power
pole the next year, 2001, and did not bloom. The following year, May 2002, it
has bloomed profusely.

That is just one testimony. I have no idea what the horticulturists are going
to say to you. I fed the plant a couple of times with some high phosphorus fertilizer like 4-12-4.

I waited for 1 minute at 7:15 AM and one Ruby-throated HB came and fed on
the vine this morning.
Good luck.

Best,
Tom Sylvest

=======================

Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 13:01:35 -0500
Reply-To: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in the Southeast <HUMNET-L@LISTSERV.LSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: [HUMNET-L] Campsis radicans

We rooted and planted a small cutting from a wild plant. It first
bloomed, sparsely, in its third year. Every fall we cut it back about
50%, and each spring it blooms more profusely than before.

Suckers are coming through the boards of our deck, up to 30 feet from the
main vine. We spray them with Weed-B-Gone, but new ones appear faster
then the old ones die back. I wonder how long it will take to push the
deck up to roof level? :-)

Something I forgot to add before: I think it was Nancy who had a theory
that Trumpet Creeper doesn't flower until it reaches the top of its
"trellis" and starts to flop over. That agrees with my experience, at
least.

Lanny Chambers
St. Louis, USA

================

Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 13:22:38 -0500
Reply-To: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in the Southeast <HUMNET-L@LISTSERV.LSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: [HUMNET-L] Campsis radicans

Lanny,
Just give it a week or two, and your deck will be consumed.
I have seen it take the roof off of barns. The roots actually go into the wood fiber and into the surface of bricks. When the vine is removed, the face of the bricks comes off too. I tell everyone to make a structure of 4x4's in the middle of the lawn, in full sun. Plant the vine and mow like crazy. It sure is agressive, but the
Hummers love it.

Olga Clifton
Abita Springs,La.
West St. Tammany Parish

=================================

From: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in the Southeast <HUMNET-L@LISTSERV.LSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: [HUMNET-L] Campsis radicans

I think that trumpet creepers growing from established large roots should
bloom in a couple of years if they get some sun. In the shade, they may
have to grow up to reach sun before they will bloom.

I think that most of the comments about trumpet creepers taking 5+ years to
bloom refer to newly planted trumpet creepers, which grow much more slowly
than established vines that have been cut.

Ron Rovansek
huntington Beach, CA

============================================

From: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in the Southeast <HUMNET-L@LISTSERV.LSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: [HUMNET-L] Campsis radicans

<< So how long does it take for Trumpet Creeper to bloom? >>

SUN is the answer!
One of the vines I planted blossomed beautifully within 5 years. It was in
full sun while riding up the trunk of a dying 20-25' Mountain Ash. It
suffered very little shade & it grew out quickly to the ends of the Ash
branches.

The other 8 year old vine is a meager bloomer since it's been unable to
find little access to full sun. The thick Mulberry leaves of the "host"
tree effectively shade it. The vine has yet to reach the sunny ends of the
Mulberry branches.

Gail Frantz
Old Hanover Rd
Reisterstown, MD
============================================

Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2002 18:30:11 -0500
Reply-To: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in the Southeast <HUMNET-L@LISTSERV.LSU.EDU>
Subject: [HUMNET-L] Campsis 'Madame Galen' as a shrub/small tree

Humnet,

I found a Campsis 'Madame Galen' in my neighborhood growing through a
chain link fence. It has obviously been trained to form a small tree.
I've posted a picture of it in hummingbirdgarden-pix (Dallas garden
folder -> campsis folder). It's about 10' feet tall (the chain link
fence is about 4' high) and appears to have been there for a while. A
mass of gnarled vines form the 'trunk' which is almost a foot in
diameter. The trunk looks to be sturdy enough to support the plants even
if the fence wasn't there. There are actually two of them, one on each
corner of the fence. Nice specimens in full bloom. I'm attempting the
same thing with an 8' 4x4 as a support. My vines have now grown beyond
the support and are starting to bow over, hopefully to bloom. Even
though campsis is a rapid grower, it will take years for mine to form a
trunk large enough to be free standing.

Haji, I've seen campsis grown in tubs and grow large enough to bloom.
But they never seemed as robust as plants in the ground -- probably
because of the tap root being confined as Nancy mentioned.

Howard Williams
Dallas, Texas

========================

Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 15:45:12 -0500
Reply-To: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in the Southeast <HUMNET-L@LISTSERV.LSU.EDU>
From: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in the Southeast <HUMNET-L@LISTSERV.LSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: [HUMNET-L] Campsis radicans

I guess I'll also throw my two cents worth in on Trumpet Vine. I bought an
established nursery plant and I had blooms the following year. I also had
a vine in the dog's area, which he chewed to the ground as a pup, several
years in a row. The trumpet vine endured, however, and now it rivals my
original plant for growth and bloom. (he also chewed down a globe willow, which didn't survive).

To my understanding, the trumpet vine blooms on new growth, so every
year I cut back the branches growing on my privacy fence back to about one half
to one foot from the fence. Then I have blooms on MY side of the fence ,
instead of the neighbors, so I get to watch the hummers feeding. My
neighbor hates my vine , but I laugh because all his hacking on his side of
the fence, only encourages more growth, blooms and seed pods!

ANON

=======================

Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 09:34:17 -0500
Reply-To: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in the Southeast <HUMNET-L@LISTSERV.LSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: [HUMNET-L] Campsis radicans in a tree form

Haji

At 07:18 AM 7/19/2002 -0700, Haji Warf wrote:

>Has anyone tried growing it as a specimen in a large
>tub? Is that too restrictive? I know it climbs 30+ ft.
>if allowed, but what if you "stunt" it into a standard
>tree form? Has this been tried by anyone?
>
>I started one in a large nursery tree pot this spring,
>and the leader is going all over the place right now
>without the "trunk" showing any signs of thickness.
>Maybe I'll trim it back to encourage this. Right now,
>I have to drape the vine over a trellis with repeated
>loopings.

I haven't tried it that way, though I've seen it as a large shrub in
Colorado. The main root is very long and it extends for quite a
distance. I suspect it will be very difficult to satisfactorily grow it in
even the largest container.

Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibrí
Metairie, Louisiana USA

=============================================

From: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in the Southeast <HUMNET-L@LISTSERV.LSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: [HUMNET-L] starting trumpet vine?
From:Lanny Chambers on
07/28/2003


On 7/28/03 20:49, Nancy L Newfield colibri@WEBDSI.COM wrote:

>Plant it near a tree that can
>serve as a trellis or some other very sturdy structure. DO NOT
PLANT IT
>NEXT TO YOUR HOUSE IF YOU INTEND TO CONTINUE LIVING THERE.

Nancy is not kidding here. If you let it grow up your house and onto the roof, it *will* eventually lift shingles and literally pull off the siding. Not generally real good for property values.

Let me emphasize "very sturdy," too. We planted several cuttings at the corners of our little woodshed--a simple fiberglass roof held up by 4x4 cedar posts, to keep snow off a cord of firewood. Despite severe annual prunings, the sheer weight of the leafy vine started pulling the shed sideways, and I had to add diagonal bracing this year to keep it from falling over. OTOH, by the time the 4x4s rot away, the vine should be fully capable of holding up the roof on its own.

I don't mind, because this Trumpet Creeper is always the single most popular humplant in the yard, nearly always being defended aggressively, even moreso than any feeder. However, it's covered with ants, It's hard to keep up with pulling off the large seedpods to protect the rest of the neighborhood from total assimilation, and root suckers are coming through the deck boards 30 feet away from the main plant. The dropped blooms would be a problem, except we have a bunny that eats them as fast as they fall. Just so you know what you're getting into...

In some climates, presumably where it's not a local native, Trumpet Creeper is reportedly not as aggressive.

Lanny Chambers
St. Louis, USA

=============================

From: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in the Southeast <HUMNET-L@LISTSERV.LSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: [HUMNET-L] starting trumpet vine

From:Nancy L Newfield on 07/30/2003

Sounds like you have plenty of space for Trumpet Creeper so enjoy it. If you grow your vines over a shed or some other relatively low structure, the seed pods will be easy to reach. If you let it run up a tree, nearly all of the pods will be far out of reach.

The pods resemble large bean pods. On my vines, they open while high in the tree rather than dropping unopened. The seeds have a fine papery covering and they can float on a breeze for blocks. However, seed dispersal is not the main problem with Trumpet Creepers.

The most major problem is a very extensive root system and suckers that grow up from that root. I pull constantly. Several have come up in neighboring yards, but I don't let that bother me. My neighborhood is becoming so sterile that I will enjoy a little chaos, especially when it
benefits birds!

Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibrí
Metairie, Louisiana USA