Digging deeperPlant Library

Other Names:  Trumpetcreeper, Mme. Galen

Description:

An extremely beautiful and vigorous vine that can grow over ten feet in a year; very showy orange-scarlet trumpet-shaped flowers in summer; does well in poor soils; extremely attractive to hummingbirds

Ornamental Features

Madame Galen Trumpetvine features bold clusters of orange trumpet-shaped flowers with scarlet overtones and yellow throats at the ends of the branches from mid summer to early fall. It has dark green deciduous foliage. The serrated pointy pinnately compound leaves do not develop any appreciable fall color.

Landscape Attributes

Madame Galen Trumpetvine is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous woody vine with a twining and trailing habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance woody vine, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting birds and hummingbirds to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Suckering
• Invasive

Madame Galen Trumpetvine is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Madame Galen Trumpetvine will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. 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 20 years.

This woody vine does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations, and should do just fine under average home landscape conditions. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.