Vine · Deer-resistant
Crossvine
Bignonia capreolata
Also called: Trumpet Flower
A vigorous semi-evergreen climber that covers a fence or arbor in orange-red trumpets in early spring — timed for the first returning hummingbirds. Far better behaved than trumpet creeper.
Growing & care
Climbs by tendrils; give it a fence, trellis, or wall. Holds much of its foliage in mild winters. Tough and drought tolerant once rooted.
Bloom season
In bloom: Mar–May · Colors: orange, red
Where to buy
Look for crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) at: native Texas nurseries, Prairie Moon Nursery.
Sources
Range, nomenclature, and the USDA symbol above come from the federal plant record for this species. Check it yourself:
Good for
Plant it with
Natives that pair with crossvine
Same conditions, same uses — species that share crossvine's growing requirements and belong in the same bed.
Coral Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
A well-behaved native vine — none of the invasive habit of Japanese honeysuckle — with clusters of coral trumpets that hummingbirds cannot resist..
Wax Myrtle
Morella cerifera
A fast, dense, aromatic evergreen that makes an ideal privacy screen and fixes its own nitrogen.
Yaupon Holly
Ilex vomitoria
An adaptable evergreen holly that takes sun or deep shade, wet or dry, and covers itself in translucent red berries that hold all winter for the birds.
Standing Cypress
Ipomopsis rubra
A tall biennial spike of fiery red tubular flowers that hummingbirds chase up and down.
Purple Passionflower
Passiflora incarnata
An extravagant, fringed purple flower unlike anything else native, followed by egg-sized edible fruit.
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
Spikes of the most intense scarlet of any native flower, rising from moist shade in late summer.