Clarion Call--Part 1

By mid-July the trumpet vine is in full bloom, with its brilliant orange-red blossoms, a full three inches long—beckoning all pollinators to come feast. The blossoms on this vine are well named, as they are narrow and long, with the outer end flaring, much like a trumpet. The call goes out, in the form of attracting aromas that entice hummingbirds and bees to come for free sips of nectar, in exchange for the satiated creature passing its pollen to adjacent flowers.

I sit in the tub in the evening, watching the aerial visitors stop by for a drink, just before dusk settles in. A mere 10 feet from the tub is a gorgeous, massive trumpet vine that completely covers and hides a homely storage shed. I watch a hummingbird visit a blossom, hovering like a mini helicopter, while the bird’s extremely long tongue dips deeply, seeking the sweet nectar. He sips twice, three times, then acrobatically zips over to the next bloom. While feasting, he remains on alert, knowing that when his head is plunged into the trumpet, he is temporarily blinded. He frequently pops his head back out, surveys the area for any potential predators, then dives back in for another drink.

I watch him for a few minutes, flitting from bloom to bloom—dipping only once into some, but going back a dozen times to others. Do some blossoms offer more nectar than others? Is the nectar sweeter in some? Has another hummer beaten him to the prize and already sucked up most of the offering in some of the blooms? On occasion, when he’s looking around for any threats, he turns my way and his brilliant ruby-colored throat flashes at me, dazzling me for a brief moment.

A little later a stout bumble bee wanders into the realm of the vine, drawn in by the sweet aroma. Rather than hover, the bee lands on the trumpet flare and waddles down inside—disappearing from my view. A few seconds later she emerges, coated with pollen, and flies to another bloom—thereby inseminating it.

The trumpet vine—also called the trumpet creeper and the cow itch vine—is an aggressive plant that, once having achieved a toehold in your yard, will threaten to become the one-and-only foliage in the area. It grows incredibly fast—adding several feet to its reach each summer. It wants support (being a member of the vine family) and will accept most anything stiffer than it is: a tree, a wall, a fence, or even a cow, if it doesn’t move fast enough. In fact, the moniker “cow itch vine” stems from the leaves of the vine causing a skin irritation. Cows are apparently especially susceptible... especially when they don't move.

One does not want to plant a trumpet vine within reaching distance of a vegetable garden. If you do, within a few short years you’ll have the vine choking out all the veggies. They send out roots, resulting in tiny vines popping up like mushrooms after a rain. If these little babies are not quickly nipped in the bud (I’ll take that pun), the area will soon be awash in trumpet vines. Sometime in late winter I ruthlessly prune back the vine to a size that will keep next year’s new growth contained.

More on trumpets next time…