Re: Campsis radicans Grandiflora ??

...>I (and a friend) are looking for Campsis radicans Grandiflora.
>Early last spring, someone suggested 2 places to look.
>One was Wayside Gardens.

>Do any of you know of this particular vine and have any ideas where we could
>find a couple??
>
>"Madame Galen" and "Flava" and "Bignonia" are everywhere but this
>"Old-fashioned" cultivar seems to be nearly lost. My friends grandmother
>used to have one. The uniqueness of this one that the flowers are so large
>the Hummingbird has to put his whole head inside the flower to get to the
>nectar.
>
>TIA and Best Wishes to you all --
>Barb

Hi Barb,

There's probably a bit of name confusion going on here, so I'll try to sort it out

There are only 3 species of the genus Campsis currently in cultivation:

Campsis radicans, with somewhat smaller flowers and hardier in the north, with normally reddish orange flowers. A variety of this is 'flava', having yellow flowers

Campsis grandiflora has larger flowers, also orange and is reputed to be not as hardy (altho I am trying one along the south wall of my house here in Milwaukee). I've seen cultivars offered called "Morning Calm", with softer, orangish-pink flowers.
See: http://www.nativeplants.net/catalog/vines.html

Campsis tagliabuana is a cross between C. radicans and C. grandiflora and has flowers intermediate between the two. A commonly available cultivar is 'Madam Galen" having reddish flowers. This is hardy north

Bignonia is simply an out dated name for a number of flowering vines, most of which have been assigned to other genera. The exception is Bignonia capreolata, or cross vine, having reddish tubular flowers, altho no larger than C. radicans. This is probably hardy to Zone 6 or 7.

I have a hunch that Campsis grandiflora might be the one your friend's grandmother had. If she did, I'll bet it was in the south somewhere?

I received my plant from Woodlanders, in Aiken S.C. (they only ship in the early spring). I have also seen C. grandiflora a few other places. If you're still interested, let me know and I'll page through some of my (many) catalogs and see if I can find it.

Hope this clears things up and that you can find the plant you want.
Don Martinson
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin (Milwaukee suburb)
USDA Zone 5 (-10 to -20F)
AHS Heat Zone #4, Map at: ( http://www.suite101.com/userfiles/79/hz1024.jpg )

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