Madame Galen Trumpet Vine

If you have a blank sunny wall, an ugly fence, an empty large pergola, or even a dead tree, then within a couple of seasons you can transform it from ‘eyesore’ to ‘spectacular’, with the Madame Galen Trumpet Vine. This vigorous climbing plant has very attractive foliage, and the spectacular flowers keep coming for months. They are guaranteed magnets for hummingbirds, who know beauty when they see it. This hybrid plant is less vigorous than its big bully parents, but it still needs a generous space to grow in, and an annual pruning, but otherwise it takes care of itself, and gives you gorgeous salmon-orange trumpet-shaped blooms in open clusters at the ends of every branch. Bringing climbing plants and vines into your garden creates a whole new dimension in your layout, and adds levels of richness you see in the best gardens. Let this lovely lady into your garden – you won’t regret it for a moment when you see the results.

Growing the Madame Galen Trumpet Vine

Size and Appearance

The Madame Galen Trumpet Vine is a vigorous deciduous twining and partially self-clinging plant with reddish-brown stems that twist around any support, and also send out aerial roots to help hold it up. It is best grown on a strong trellis attached to a wall, on a fence, on the arches of a pergola or other garden structure, or into a large old tree. Give it plenty of room, because even with annual pruning it will grow 15 feet tall and 6 feet or more wide, and left unchecked it can reach 30 feet. The handsome foliage is glossy with a soft, slightly downy underside, and the leaves are large, about 15 inches long. You don’t at first realize their size, though, because they are divided into 7 to 15 leaflets, in pairs along a central stem, with one at the tip. These are up to 3 inches long, with a tapering pointed tip and serrated edges. The rich green of the foliage is very attractive, and in late fall it turns clear yellow before dropping for the winter.

The large blooms form at the ends of new shoots, which often arch up and out from the main branches, giving a full, open look. Blooming begins about mid-summer and continues well into the fall, depending on your climate. The blooms are in clusters, opening a few at a time, which keeps this plant in bloom for a long period. The flowers are 3 inches long, with a long tube and a flaring, 5-petaled trumpet mouth, about 3 inches across. The color is gorgeous and indescribable, somewhere between orange, salmon, and rich reds. The throat is a glowing golden yellow. Hummingbirds find the flowers irresistible, and if anything is going to attract these wondrous creatures to your garden, it is this vine. Following flowering, interesting long, bean-like seed pods develop, which open produce ripe seeds in the warmest zones.

Using the Madame Galen Trumpet Vine in Your Garden

As a cover for a bare wall, or wherever you want vertical richness and color, the Madame Galen Trumpet Vine is unbeatable. Use it on blank walls of your home, or of garages and outbuildings. Cover a fence with it. Plant it on a large garden arch or a pergola, shared with other vines if it is large enough. If you have a large dead tree, this is a great way to turn it into a spectacular garden decoration.

Hardiness

The Madame Galen Trumpet Vine is hardy from zone 5 to zone 9. It thrives in sun and warmth, so in zones 5 and 6, plant in your most sheltered and sunny spot, like a south or west-facing wall.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Full sun is best for the Madame Galen Trumpet Vine, although it will take a couple of hours of shade without problems, beyond a slight reduction in flower production. Avoid heavily shaded areas. The soil should be well-drained, and it doesn’t need to be rich – poorer soils produce more blooms. This plant is not particular about the type of soil, or it’s pH. Moderate amounts of water are beneficial, but established plants are drought resistant.

Maintenance and Pruning

This plant has no serious pests or diseases, and it grows without trouble. Annual pruning is recommended to keep it from becoming too rampant. Cut back hard in early spring, before new growth appears. Since flowers form on new stems this won’t reduce flowering. Cut back to a main framework, leaving just a few inches of the stems from the previous year. Nothing else is needed to succeed with this great plant.

History and Origin of the Madame Galen Trumpet Vine

There are two species in the genus Campsis, one from south-eastern America, Campsis radicans, and one from China, Campsis grandiflora. The Chinese species is more spectacular but also more cold sensitive. Both were being grown in Europe by 1800, and when they met up around 1850 in a nursery near Milan, Italy belonging to the Tagliabue brothers, they were hybridized, creating Campsis x tagliabuana. This hybrid was later recreated several times by nurseries in France and when Félix Sahut, a horticulturist in Montpellier, France, did it in 1889, his plant, which he called ‘Madame Galen’, proved to be one of the best, and soon become the most popular variety of this hybrid. [Sahut is most remembered as the person who identified the Phylloxera insect attacking vines that almost destroyed the French wine industry.]

Buying the Madame Galen Trumpet Vine at the Tree Center

Unbeatable for vigor, beauty, and charm, the Madame Galen Trumpet Vine is always popular and a big seller. So order now, because we don’t know when we will be able to bring it back into stock, once these plants are gone.