Plant Library

Other Names:  Bignonia callistergioides

Description:

A fast growing, evergreen vine that will climb up or over anything that will support it; leathery, bright green foliage provides contrast to large lavender trumpet flowers in spring through fall; hardy and adaptable, excellent for arbors and garden walls

Ornamental Features

Lavender Trumpet Vine is smothered in stunning lavender trumpet-shaped flowers with white overtones, lemon yellow throats and deep purple veins along the branches from mid spring to early fall. It has green evergreen foliage which emerges coppery-bronze in spring. The glossy oval leaves remain green throughout the winter. The fruits are showy light green pods displayed from late summer to late fall.

Landscape Attributes

Lavender Trumpet Vine is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen woody vine with a twining and trailing habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.

This woody vine will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Lavender Trumpet Vine is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Lavender Trumpet Vine will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. As a climbing vine, it tends to be leggy near the base and should be underplanted with low-growing facer plants. It should be planted near a fence, trellis or other landscape structure where it can be trained to grow upwards on it, or allowed to trail off a retaining wall or slope. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years.

This woody vine does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This species is not originally from North America..

Lavender Trumpet Vine makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.