Common Name: Chinese trumpet creeper
Type: Vine
Family: Bignoniaceae
Zone: 6 to 9
Height: 20.00 to 25.00 feet
Spread: 6.00 to 9.00 feet
Bloom Time: June to August
Bloom Description: Peach with yellow throat
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Flower: Showy
Attracts: Hummingbirds
Tolerate: Deer
Culture
Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Best in full sun. Established plants have some drought tolerance. Plants will grow in somewhat shady conditions, but need good sun for best flowering. Prune as needed to keep foliage growth within intended boundaries. Winter hardy to USDA Zone 6. Plants grown in the St. Louis area should be sited in protected locations with good winter root mulches in order to promote winter survival. Foliage begins to suffer significant damage and stem dieback begins to occur as soon as temperatures dip below 15 degrees F. Propagate by softwood cuttings. Blooms appear on new growth, so early spring pruning will not affect the flowering.
‘Morning Calm’ needs to be tied to a support structure or it will simply flop along the ground. Adhesive aerial rootlets occasionally found on the straight species are usually not found on this cultivar.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Campsis grandiflora, commonly known as Chinese trumpet creeper, is a deciduous woody vine that is native to eastern and southeastern China. It has been widely cultivated in Taiwan, Korea and Japan. It typically matures to 20-30’ tall and features attractive, coarsely toothed, pinnate, medium to dark green leaves (to 12” long). Each leaf contains 7-9 leaflets (to 5” long). This vine sometimes climbs by adhesive aerial rootlets (often rather sparse) which adhere to flat surfaces such as the side of a house or garage. Although Chinese trumpet creeper is a vigorous vine, it is not as aggressive as the native American trumpet creeper vine, Campsis radicans, which typically spreads almost weed-like in the landscape by root suckering. Loose, open panicles of trumpet-shaped orange to red flowers (each to 3” long) with yellow throats bloom on new growth in early June, with sporadic repeat bloom continuing throughout the summer. Flowers are very attractive to hummingbirds. Flowers are followed by long, bean-like seed pods (3-5” long) which split open when ripe releasing numerous 2-winged seeds for disbursal by the wind.
Flowers are attractive to hummingbirds.
Genus name comes from the Greek word kampe meaning bent in reference to the bent stamens on plant flowers.
Specific epithet comes from the Latin words grandis meaning large and floreo meaning to bloom in obvious reference to flower size.
‘Morning Calm’ has peach apricot flowers with yellow throats. It was introduced by JC Raulston in the mid-1980s. It is a floriferous slightly more compact version of the species.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Watch for powdery mildew, leaf blight and leaf spot. Plants can spread somewhat aggressively, particularly in rich, fertile soils, by suckering from underground runners.
Uses
A rapid-growing vine that provides excellent cover for fences, walls, arbors or large trellises. May also be grown along the ground to cover eyesores such as tree stumps or rock piles. Naturalized areas. Hummingbird gardens.