Trumpet Vine

Compound leaves composed of deep green leaflets create an emerald backdrop for the trumpet flowers, which come in a variety of shades in the orange, yellow, and red range. Once trumpet vines begin blooming, they can continue their show all summer long. Hummingbirds delight in the blooms of trumpet vines and are frequent visitors.

These flowering vines will stop you in your tracks.

Trumpet vine can thrive on neglect, actually preferring poor soil to rich, organic soil. If planted in soil with excess nutrients, it tends to put on too much green leafy growth and won't focus on flowering. For the best growth, plant trumpet vine in full sun. This encourages a deep green foliage and an abundance of flowers. While the plant can grow in part sun, that is usually not recommended because it will ramble and not use its energy to produce flowers. Once trumpet vine is established, it grows well and can even handle drought.

Trumpet vine is vigorous, bordering on invasive. It climbs by way of aerial rootlets that cling to just about anything, including siding. It should not be allowed to climb on your home or any structure near a house. The stems can become very large and woody with age and can crush and contort the base of any structure they grow on. Trumpet vine also spreads with underground runners that spring up around the main plant. Be sure to keep the runners under control; otherwise, they can form dense thickets that choke out less vigorous plants in the garden. After trumpet vine finishes blooming, it grows large seed pods reminiscent of giant green beans that burst open and drop a large number of seeds that encourage further spreading. To reduce the chance of a trumpet vine takeover, remove these pods before they fully ripen.

Here are the best perennial vines for your garden.