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trumpet creeper

Campsis radicans Β· Bignoniaceae

trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans)
Photo: Rob Hille Β· Public domain Β· via Wikimedia Commons

trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans) is a perennial vine in the Bignoniaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 5 and warmer, down to about -13Β°F.

At a glance

Typevine USDA
Lifecycleperennial USDA
Native statusnative USDA
Mature height2 ft USDA
Lightfull-sun USDA
Water needlow USDA
Growth raterapid USDA
Soil pH4.9–6.8 USDA
BloomJune–August USDA
Flower colorRed USDA
Hardiness zones5 and warmer USDA
Guild layerclimber Derived
Nursery availabilityRoutinely Available USDA

USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database Β· Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.

Growing conditions

It needs full sun. USDA rates it as having low water needs once established. It is recorded on soils from pH 4.9 to 6.8 β€” a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 5; USDA publishes no warm-end limit, so gardeners in warmer zones should check local heat tolerance separately.

Size and growth

At maturity it reaches about 2 ft, making it a low to knee-height plant. It grows quickly, which matters when you are timing a planting around the layers above it.

Bloom period

USDA records a bloom period of June through August. The flower color USDA records is red. Bloom timing is how the Guild Builder overlaps flowering across a planting so something is in flower for as much of the season as possible.

Bloom period is a claim about when this plant flowers. It is deliberately not a pollinator rating β€” no dataset we trust publishes one, so we do not make that claim. See Data & sources.

Role in a guild

Climber. In a layered planting this is it uses other plants or structures for vertical support rather than standing on its own. We derive the layer from the plant's growth habit and mature height using a fixed rule, so the same inputs always produce the same layer.

Build a guild around trumpet creeper β†’

Tags

deciduousdrought-tolerantsandy-soilspreadingnativefull-sunfast-growingclimber

Related plants

Similar role and hardiness

Where this data comes from

Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol CARA2, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.

Read our full data sources and methodology.

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