Shrub · Bignoniaceae
Crossvine
Bignonia capreolata
A tough native climber that throws up a wall of spring trumpets and keeps the hummingbirds coming back.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 5–9
30–50 ft · 9.1–15.2 m
Overview
Crossvine is a fast, woody climber native to the southeastern United States, and it earns its name from the cross-shaped pattern you see when you slice through an older stem. It clings without any help, gripping fences, walls, and arbors with tendrils tipped in sticky disks. Come early spring it covers itself in trumpet-shaped flowers that pull in hummingbirds.
This is one of the easy ones. It takes full sun or deep shade, shrugs off poor soil, handles drought once its roots go down, and rides out winters from zone 5 to zone 9. The trade-off is vigor. Left alone it climbs 30 to 50 feet and sends up suckers from the roots, so it wants a strong support and a yearly haircut.
Don't confuse it with the rowdier trumpet creeper it's often sold beside. Crossvine flowers earlier, behaves better, and won't leave your skin itching the way its cousin can.
Care
The short version: plant it in full sun for the best flowering, give it a sturdy support it can climb, water deeply only while it settles in, and prune hard right after the spring bloom to keep it in bounds.
Light
Crossvine grows in anything from full sun to full shade, which is part of what makes it so easy. Sun is where it really performs, though, giving you denser growth and far more of those spring trumpets. In deep shade it turns leggy and flowers little.
Water
While it's getting established, keep the soil evenly moist. After that it's genuinely drought tolerant, so you only need to water deeply during a long dry stretch. Most of the time rainfall is enough.
Soil
It isn't fussy about soil. Average, well-drained loam or sandy ground suits it, and it adapts to a wide range, taking anything from a pH of 6.0 to 8.0. Rich, organic soil grows it best, but it gets by almost anywhere.
Temperature
This is a cold-hardy native that handles roughly -20°F to 100°F (-29°C to 38°C), covering zones 5 through 9. Winter doesn't faze it, and summer heat is no problem either.
Humidity
Average outdoor humidity is all it asks, so there's no number to hit. Good air movement matters more, since crowded growth in still, damp air is what invites the odd leaf spot.
Feeding
Crossvine barely needs feeding. A light dose of balanced fertilizer or compost in spring is plenty for this vigorous native, and heavy nitrogen just grows leaves at the expense of flowers.
Pruning
Prune hard right after it finishes flowering to keep the vine in check on its support, since cutting before the bloom sacrifices that year's flowers. Pull up root suckers as they appear to stop the plant from wandering.
Repotting
Crossvine is a landscape climber that rarely lives in a pot for long. If you do grow one in a container, move it up only when it's clearly outgrown its space, shown by roots circling or escaping the pot, fast-drying soil, and stalled top growth.
Size & spacing
Give this vine serious room. It climbs 30 to 50 feet (9 to 15 m) tall and spreads 6 to 9 feet (180 to 275 cm) wide, so set it where a large, fast climber is welcome and back it with a strong arbor or fence.
When to plant
Crossvine is hardy from zone 5 to 9 and goes in the ground in spring or fall, while the weather is mild and the roots can settle before the extremes of summer or winter. It blooms in late winter to early spring, sliding to May or June in the colder end of its range.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: spring or fall
- Harvest: late winter to early spring (May to June in colder zones)
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 5–9
Temperature: down to -29°C
Troubleshooting
Crossvine has almost no pest or disease troubles. What problems it does cause come from its own vigor, too much shade, or pruning at the wrong moment. Match what you see below and step in early.
The vine outgrows its support and swallows nearby plants
Crossvine climbs fast by nature, and its tendrils grip with sticky disks that latch onto anything within reach. Too much shade makes it worse, since the vine stretches and reaches for light. Cut it back hard right after it blooms and give it a sturdy arbor or fence built for a 30 to 50 foot climber.
Fix:
- Prune hard after flowering to reduce size
- Provide a sturdy, large support such as an arbor or fence
- Site in full sun for denser, more floriferous growth
New shoots popping up in the lawn away from the main plant
Those stray shoots are root suckers, the way crossvine naturally spreads underground. Pull or dig them as soon as you see them, and mow over any that come up in the grass. If you need to keep the plant in one place, sink a root barrier or set it in a contained bed where the spread won't bother you.
Fix:
- Pull or dig up root suckers as soon as they are spotted
- Mow or cut suckers in lawn areas
- Install a root barrier if confining the plant
A leafy, healthy vine that barely flowers
When crossvine grows lush but skips the trumpet flowers, too much shade is usually the cause. Pruning at the wrong time hurts too, since cutting before the spring bloom strips off the buds. Move or train the vine into more sun, hold off on heavy nitrogen, and prune only after it has finished flowering.
Fix:
- Move or train the vine into more sun
- Prune only after the spring bloom, not before
- Avoid excess nitrogen fertilizer
Dark spots scattered across the leaves
These are usually just fungal leaf spot, a minor cosmetic issue on a plant that otherwise shrugs off pests and disease. Thin the growth so air moves freely, pull off the worst leaves, and water at the base rather than overhead. Crossvine has no serious insect or disease problems, so spots like these rarely amount to much.
Fix:
- Improve air circulation by thinning growth
- Remove and dispose of badly affected leaves
- Avoid overhead watering
Toxicity
Good news for pet owners and parents: crossvine is not toxic. It isn't listed among the ASPCA's poisonous plants and is treated as safe for cats, dogs, and people. Just don't mix it up with trumpet creeper, the related vine whose sap can irritate skin.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats Safe
Crossvine isn't on the ASPCA toxic list, so a curious cat that nibbles a leaf is fine. A big mouthful of any plant can bring on a little drooling or a soft stool, but nothing worse.
Dogs Safe
Dogs can chew the foliage without harm. The most you might see is a bit of mild stomach upset if one gulps down a large amount, which passes on its own.
Horses Safe
No toxin here that troubles horses. They graze around crossvine safely, though no animal should make a steady diet of any one plant.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can browse the leaves without risk. Introduce any new green slowly, as a sudden pile of fresh foliage can loosen a rabbit's gut.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep are in no danger from this vine. It carries none of the compounds that make some pasture plants a worry.
Birds Safe
Crossvine poses no threat to birds. The spring trumpet flowers actually draw hummingbirds, which sip the nectar without any harm.
People Safe
This is the well-behaved crossvine, not its prickly cousin the trumpet creeper, so handling it won't irritate your skin. It's safe around children and pets alike.
No special handling required; as with any plant, large quantities of ingested foliage may cause mild, non-specific GI upset.
Varieties
A few named selections stand out for flower color and habit. These are the ones you're most likely to find at a nursery.
Tangerine Beauty
The most popular selection by far, it covers itself in warm tangerine to apricot-orange trumpets and blooms more freely than the species.
Atrosanguinea
A more restrained, shorter grower with darker purplish-red flowers and narrow, lance-shaped leaflets.
Dragon Lady
A selection prized for its deep red-orange flowers.
How to propagate
Crossvine is easy to multiply, and it often does the work for you through self-seeding and low stems that root where they touch the ground.
SeedModerate
Fall or spring after pods mature · 1 to 2 growing seasons
Gather seed from the long bean-like pods once they ripen, and sow in fall or spring. Crossvine self-sows readily on its own, so volunteers often appear without any help. Give a sown plant a season or two to settle in before it really takes off.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Summer · Several weeks to root
Take softwood cuttings in summer and they put out roots over several weeks. Root cuttings work too and are a documented method for this species, handy if you want copies of a favorite selection.
LayeringEasy
Spring to summer · One season
The easiest route by far. Pin a low stem against the soil in spring or summer and it roots on its own within a season, much the way the vine naturally spreads as it sprawls.
Myths
Crossvine and trumpet vine are the same plant.
They share a family but they are not the same vine. Crossvine climbs with tendrils tipped in adhesive disks, blooms in early spring, and stays comparatively well-mannered. Trumpet creeper is the aggressive one, flowering in summer, and its foliage and sap can leave your skin itchy.