Trumpet Creeper

Trumpet Creeper, Campsis radicans, as you may have guessed, is a favorite of hummingbirds. It is native to the region and although considered invasive, I've found only these few vines around the lake.


From Nature's Garden:

"Where a trumpet vine climbs with the help of its aerial roots, like an ivy's, and sends forth clusters of brilliant tubes at the tips of long, wiry branches, there one is sure to see, sooner or later, the ruby-throat flashing, whirring, darting from flower to flower. Eight birds at once were counted about a vine one sunny morning. The next, a pair of tame pigeons walked over the roof of the summer-house where the creeper grew luxuriantly, and punctured, with a pop that was distinctly heard fifty feet away, the base of every newly opened nectar-filled trumpet on it ! That afternoon all the corollas discolored, and no hummers came near."


Wikipedia corrects my thoughts on this vine's innocence:

"The vigor of the trumpet vine should not be underestimated. In warm weather, it puts out huge numbers of tendrils that grab onto every available surface, and eventually expand into heavy woody stems several centimeters in diameter. It grows well on arbors, fences, telephone poles, and trees, although it may dismember them in the process. Ruthless pruning is recommended. Outside of its native range this species has the potential to be highly invasive, even as far north as New England.The trumpet vine thrives in many places in southern Canada as well."


Blanchan, Neltje. Nature's Garden. New York, 1901. 391. Web. Google Book Search. 7 Aug 2009.

"Trumpet vine." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 22 Apr 2009, 21:59 UTC. 22 Apr 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trumpet_vine&oldid=285531308>.

Apologies to my FeedBurner email subscription folks; my scheduling went a bit awry last evening.