College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources

Plant Database

Campsis radicans

Common Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet Vine

Bignoniaceae

Common Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet VineCommon Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet VineCommon Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet VineCommon Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet VineCommon Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet VineCommon Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet VineCommon Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet VineCommon Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet VineCommon Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet VineCommon Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet VineCommon Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet VineCommon Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet VineCommon Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet VineCommon Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet VineCommon Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet VineCommon Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet VineCommon Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet VineCommon Trumpetcreeper, Trumpet Vine
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Habitat

  • native to the eastern and south central United States
  • hardy to zone 4
  • Special Note: This species has demonstrated an invasive tendency in Connecticut, meaning it may escape from cultivation and naturalize in minimally managed areas. For more information, .

Habit and Form

  • a deciduous climbing vine
  • 30' to 40' tall or wide depending if growth is supported upright or creeping
  • has rootlike holdfasts
  • vigorous grower

Summer Foliage

  • opposite deciduous leaves
  • pinnately compound, 7, 9, or 11 leaflets
  • coarsely toothed
  • somewhat shiny, dark green color
  • late to leaf out in spring

Autumn Foliage

  • fall color is poor
  • yellow-green

Flowers

  • showy, tubular flowers
  • 2.5" to 3" long and 1.5" wide at the mouth
  • orange-scarlet colored
  • born in clusters of 4 to a dozen at the terminals
  • blooms on new growth
  • July through August bloom period

Fruit

  • a 3" to 5" long capsule about 0.75" wide
  • somewhat shaped like a peapod that tapers more at the ends
  • seeds are flattened with 2 wings
  • change from green to tan

Bark

  • light tan
  • slightly exfoliating on old trunks

Culture

  • very easy to grow
  • not particular as to soil as long as its not waterlogged
  • pruning back or thinning may be beneficial
  • full sun

Landscape Use

  • as a screen
  • to cover rock piles
  • train up a lattice or trellis
  • useful for mid-late summer bloom
  • flowers attract hummingbirds

Liabilities

  • a rampant grower, so need room to develop
  • late to leaf out, but this is a minor issue
  • a poor climber that may need extra support to grow vertically
  • can get some twig dieback in cold years in the colder part of zone 4
  • no diseases or insects are particulary problematic

ID Features

  • bundle scar in a U-shaped ring
  • root-like aerial holdfasts typically abundant
  • opposite leaves
  • pinnately compound leaves, coarsely toothed
  • trumpet-shaped red/orange flowers
  • light tan bark

Propagation

  • stratified seeds
  • softwood cuttings
  • root cuttings

Cultivars/Varieties

'Crimson Trumpet' - Has redder flowers than the species, no orange hue. Vigorous grower.

'Flava' - Has yellow or yellow-orange flowers. Otherwise similar to the species. Considered by many to be superior to the species.

'Madame Galen' (or 'Mme Galen') - A hybrid with C. grandiflora, this is a common commercial selection with vivid orange-apricot blooms produced all summer on self-fastening stems. The foliage is a clean green and the plant grows quickly.

'Variegata' - A form with white-marked leaves and orange flowers that is occasionally available.

© Copyright Mark H. Brand, 1997-2015.

The digital materials (images and text) available from the UConn Plant Database are protected by copyright. Public use via the Internet for non-profit and educational purposes is permitted. Use of the materials for profit is prohibited.

Citation and Acknowledgements: University of Connecticut Plant Database, https://plantdatabase.uconn.edu/, Mark H. Brand, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, Storrs, CT 06269-4067 USA.