Trumpet Vine: Hummingbird flower

Witches Fingers, that’s what we used to call the Trumpet Vine or Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans) as kids. We would pluck the flowers and put them on the tips of our fingers and run around, point at people and give a creepy laugh.

Of course today I like the flowers because they attract hummingbirds and the dense foliage is used by many types of birds as shelter. The vine is native to woodlands and riverbanks of the southeastern United States, but is a popular garden perennial plant across much of the US and southern Canada.

It takes 3-4 years for it to mature to the point of producing blooms, and I’ve found the more I “beat up” or trim back the plant harshly the more it blooms.

Many people grow Trumpet Vines in their gardens for its beautiful flowers or to attract birds but some downsides to the plant are its aggressive nature. It can crowd other plants, climb or grow into walls and fences and can cause a rash on some people.

The range of trumpet creeper across the United States matches nearly that of the ruby-throated hummingbirds’. And its bloom time, June to September also coincides with the hummingbirds’ migration south.

Source: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campsis_radicans
 

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