| I took several cuttings of a trailing, flowering vine from a friend's yard and would like to know what it is and how I can propagate it to start it in my own yard. It has a woody, vinelike trunk that is growing alongside and over a fence. Long vines growing off it have small branchlets of dark green leaves with pointy tips and saw tooth edges growing in pairs about one to two inches in length. At the end of the long vines are clusters of a dozen or more dark salmon colored, funnel shaped flowers about two inches long. Its late June and the flowers are in full bloom. It looks sort of like a red trumpet honeysuckle from a photo I saw but the leaf shape is different. |
| I think you are describing a trumpet creeper or trumpet vine, Campsis radicans. If it is the straight species, you can propagate it easily by seed. Once the seeds are completely ripe on the vine, simply collect and plant some where you want it to grow and mark the spot, then look for it next spring. If however it is a named variety of the vine (or if you wish an exact duplicate of the vine) you would need to do it by taking softwood cuttings, which is not too difficult and is in fact best done in June and July. In my experience this plant will root in almost any barely damp mix, from a soilless mix or a mix of perlite or vermiculite or sand with peat moss. Take a tip cutting about six or eight inches long, strip off all but the top set or two of leaves, place firmly into the mix up to the leaves, then keep moist or cover with clear plastic to maintain humidity and set in a shady spot out of direct sun. Check in about a month or so for roots. Good luck with your vine! |
