I suggest coral honeysuckle. It isn't invasive. It probably won't be too heavy and it blooms much longer than Trumpet vine and it is a native perennial vine.

Penny

What about Alabama Crimson Penny? I have added that to my very short list of new plants to buy this spring.

Mimi,
Alabama Crimson which is a hybrid of coral honeysuckle, may not be quite as hardy in Michigan as the species. It might be borderline there depending on the environment where Lary is.

Penny

Also check out Kathi & Michael Rock's website. They list plants that work very well in their hummer habitat in Wisconsin Hummingbird Gardens in the Upper Midwest

They have photos of the plants growing in their own garden, resources of where to buy the plants and or seed both local and mail order and a link to their newsletter.

Penny

Thank you Penny for your suggestion for the link to Rock's website, very much appreciated.

Lary

Just wanted to clarify, since it might have been confusing in Penny's post, but Trumpet Vine is native to the U.S. from TX to FL and north to PA. Penny's post, the way I read it, implies that it is not native.

Also, Trumpet Vine needs considerable sun to bloom at its best, with full sun being optimal. Not quite sure on honeysuckle, but it may be able to bloom better under the light guidelines you gave, Lary.

BN

BN Oh I didn't mean to imply that Trumpet vine wasn't a native vine. I guess I was more or less singing the praises of the coral honeysuckle because it has a much longer blooming period. Coral honeysuckle will bloom well as long as it gets at least 4 hrs of good sunlight and it does bloom all summer and fall where Trumpet Vine has a shorter bloom time. If I had to chose one over the other it would be the honeysuckle because it does bloom all season. It also blooms on a much younger plant than Trumpet vine which sometimes can take up to 5 yrs. to bloom.

Penny

What about TANGERINE BEAUTY CROSS VINE Bignonia capreolata 'Tangerine Beauty'?

I was wondering about the cross vine. They do stay pretty all year around.

I also thought about crossvine (Bignonia capreolata. It is borderline hardy for me if we don't have a severe wintere. Mine did well last year but this year they are in a more exposed area and our temps have been the lowest in two years so I will have to wait and see how it faired over the winter when spring comes. Crossvine blooms in the early part of the season and then maybe sporadically after that I think. SInce mine is only 2yrs old from seed, it hasn't come into bloom yet. I have never been able to find an established plant up here so they may be much harder to locate in the northern states.

Penny

Hi everyone!!!

Thanks for all of the responses to my question!! Does anyone know where I could purchase Alabama Crimson Penny here in South Eastern Michigan????? I talked with one of our large suppliers here in the Detroit area "Bordines" and they are not going to handle it this coming year 2007.

Thanks Lary

Lary,
Don't have a clue in Mich. I had to order mine online from Fl. I posted three online nurseries that have it right now in your other thread.

Penny

I figured that Penny, but the way your post was written could have led to confusion. Just wanted to clarify. I agree with Penny that Trumpet Vine can take years to bloom, depending on how big the plant is when planted. It also does bloom later in the summer than other plants, but I find that useful, since it is often in bloom when a lot of other plants have started to fade out at the end of summer and it can be valuable to migrating birds and young of the year.

I do agree that honeysuckles have a longer bloom time and bloom at a younger age.

I have no information or experience with crossvine.

BN

If my corssvines survived this winter, they will be two years old. They grew a lot loast summer but the jury is stil out on when they will bloom

Penny

Hi Penny,

Yeah, the winter up there this year is gonna be brutal for your plants. My Mom and Dad, who now live in Corfu (moved out to be closer to my sister and the grandkids) are really getting tired of the bitterly cold temps and snow. Hang in there and pray for spring. I told my Mom my crocuses came up this week and this morning I can see some buds. She wasn't happy with me! :-)

BN

BN I don't blame your mom! I am not very happy with you either especially since I just saw on the news that we are supposed to get the worst storm since Dec. 2002 tonight. We haven't had much snow here at all ... only about 6 inches so far but the bitter cold and the wicked wind have been terrible. It is 10 degrees here right now and I haven't even checked the windchill. Sarah in Pa. said it has been snowing there since 7:00 this morning and they have gotten hit pretty hard in the Indianapolis area from what I have seen along with Cincinatti, Cleveland and all the way up the shoreline of Lake Erie to here.

I think you sister should have moved herself and the grandkids back to your mom's instead of the other way around. I would pack up and move in a heartbeat. Keep a check on your Mom and Dad tonight as Corfu may get it a lot worse than we do here in Niagara County.

Penny

I bought a Bignonia Capreolata Dragon Lady Crossvine in the fall of 2004. It was about 2 feet tall when I planted it, and grew to 7 feet the following summer. It also bloomed in the spring of 2006. It should really take off this year, as it has been in the ground for just over 2 years now. I think it is the Campsis Radicans Crossvine that takes many years to bloom. Christy

Campsis Radicans and Crossvine are two different plants. The botanical naem for Crossvine is Bignonia Caprolata and Trumpet Creeper (Vine) is Campsis Radicans. They are both in the same family but two different plants Crossvine blooms early in the season and Trumpet Creeper blooms closer to the end of the season. The leaves are also completely different on each plant Crossvine leaves turn deep maroon in the fall and may hold its leaves in milder climates. Trumpet Creeper loses its leaves in the fall.

Penny