New Member - Campsis Advice

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jeanuk53

New Member - Campsis Advice

Post by jeanuk53 »

Hi everyone - its nice to be here - I've often looked at posts here but only just got around to registering. I'm not a huge tropical grower but certain things grab me, like Bougainvillea, Oleanders and Campsis. I've tried two Campsis before and planted them in my south facing border which unfortunately doesn't have a wall but a fence but I thought they would get some protection there but sadly they both turned up their toes after fairly harsh winters. I have mellianthus growing there as well and although it gets frosted to the ground it always survives and grows strongly come the spring, it even flowered once. The ones I tried were Campsis Radicans, Indian Summer and the cross, Madame Galen. Last week I was lured by a beautiful Campsis Grandiflora and couldn't resist it. RHS says it's hardier than the others but many other websites I've looked at say the opposite!! Do any of you have any experience of growing Grandiflora? I thought this time I would keep it in a pot and then I can bring it closer to the house if the winter is bad. I've potted it in a mix of multipurpose container compost, organic compost and vermiculite in the hope that this might stop it becoming too waterlogged in the colder weather. We're fairly mild here most of the time and I have 6 large Oleanders in pots (three of which are cuttings I brought back from Rome) which stay out all Winter without much problem and also a huge Acacia Pravissima which survives no problem and which has got so big I have to cut it back about twice a year, it produces huge quantities of seed each year.
Anyway, any advice from members would be gratefully received as I would really love to be able to keep this one.

Thanks
Jean
fern Rob

Re: New Member - Campsis Advice

Post by fern Rob »

Welcome.
GREVILLE

Re: New Member - Campsis Advice

Post by GREVILLE »

Welcome, Jean icon_cheers

I grew the Mme Galen variety some years ago but I pidgeon-holed it in a very small space with too much root competition and it quickly gave up, I really would like to try this again but I am rather stuck for room!
kata

Re: New Member - Campsis Advice

Post by kata »

Welcome to the forum Jean!

icon_cheers
charliepridham

Re: New Member - Campsis Advice

Post by charliepridham »

Campsis are not really tender at all, not in the normal sense (they take -30c where they came from in parts of their natural range), but they do need a hot summer to ripen the wood for it to, A, flower, B, go through the winter without die back. It is therefore hard work trying to grow them without some sort of wall behind them.

Grandiflora is the more difficult to grow and flower but at least it does not sucker and run like radicans which is a bit of a pest, however it is rarely encountered and most plants are at best hybrids so I wouldn't worry to much!

As you have just bought it, unless it has large woody stems already keep it potted untill next spring then put it in the hottest spot you have

There are Magnificent plants of Campsis at Cothay in cold inland Somerset and at Wisley, here in west Cornwall with the cool summers I struggle to get it to grow or flower except under glass and there are better plants for that
jeanuk53

Re: New Member - Campsis Advice

Post by jeanuk53 »

Hi Charlie, thanks for your reply even though perhaps it doesn't bode well for next year! Hot summers are a rarity lately I find and even if they are hot they start too late in the UK really, that's what I find with the Oleanders, last summer (if you can call it that!) I don't think any of them flowered, the buds just sat there and didn't open. This year 5 out of 6 have flowered well and my latest cutting which is only about 6" tall taken in Valladolid last November even flowered which was a lovely surprise.
This grandiflora was in full bloom when I bought it and buds are continuing to open, it is so beautiful and nicer than radicans IMO. It was raised in a British nursery but obviously in a greenhouse! As I said I am keeping it in a pot (I bought a large fake terracotta one for it which hopefully I will be able to lift!) and will bring it close to the house for the winter and then move it in to the south facing border when the weather improves - it would just be nice for it to survive - I hate it when plants just don't come back to life after the winter. It has woody growth at the bottom but the flowering stems are all still green. I think I read that you should prune the shoots back to 2 or 3 buds before the winter. My local nursery has the yellow radicans one in their garden which is quite large and was in flower this weekend. I would have thought you would be able to grow them in Cornwall quite well, I thought your climate was much milder?

Thanks
Jean
jeanuk53

Re: New Member - Campsis Advice

Post by jeanuk53 »

Grevillle - yes, I know just what you mean! Garden's are NEVER big enough are they!? That's why I have about 40 pots all over the place which take about an hour and a quarter to water.
Thinking about it, perhaps that's one reason my campsis radicans didn't too well as they were planted about 2 feet away from an enormous Robinia which obviously has sent roots everywhere and must drink gallons of water a day. Hopefully this grandiflora might be happy in a pot. I wonder if I was to bring it into my conservatory during the cold weather if that might help, although I find most plants that I bring in from the garden really don't enjoy it in there, it's too hot and the light isn't good enough in the winter months and they try and grow but become very lanky and pale. Perhaps I should just move to Italy?! If only!!!!

Jean
Half Hardy

Re: New Member - Campsis Advice

Post by Half Hardy »

Hi Jean,welcome aboard.I don't know much about grandiflora,apart from what I have read on the internet,the're attractive to hummingbirds apparently.It always makes me a bit :mrgreen: when I read that about a plant.I have had a nice long display of blooms on my yellow(flava) campsis,this year.It is in a pot,in front of the house,full sun most of the day.

I bought a small, red oleander plant back from a holiday in spain,many years ago.It only cost me 2 euros,but took about five years before it flowered over here.When it did it was white :roll: .I keep in the polytunnel over winter.

Just a quick point.You would be better off,with perlite rather than vermiculite in your compost mix if you want good drainage.
billdango

Re: New Member - Campsis Advice

Post by billdango »

They do well in Southampton and flower well in this City every year.

There is a huge one climbing all over a house just up the road from the St Denys palm house and it is covered in big red flowers.

They do have an annoying habit of just collapsing and dying back every so often but always come back okay.

I did have a huge red one in my garden but it just died back for no reason that I could understand but I think the last 3 sunless summers did the damage as this year they are growing well again and should flower in a years time.

rgds billdango icon_sunny
jeanuk53

Re: New Member - Campsis Advice

Post by jeanuk53 »

Hi Half Hardy, yes, I've read that about hummingbirds and Campsis and thought how lovely it must be to have a plant that such lovely birds would come to to feed, I’d only get pigeons on mine! Well, you’ve given me some hope if you have yours in a pot and I also have some cuttings which I ‘borrowed’ from a local nursery of Madame Galen and the yellow one which hopefully may root soon. I did use Perlite in the potting mix - just force of habit saying vermiculite. How annoying that your red oleander turned out white! I have 4 in various shades of pink (pale pink, double cerise pink, apricoty pink and a semi-double cerise pink), one white, one cream and one which is more yellow that came from a park in Rome, that’s the one which hasn’t flowered this year. Two of them were hit with what I think was oleander wilt in 2011 and although the larger one has recovered well the yellow one is struggling a bit but that may be due to the fact that it’s sharing its pot with a huge fern, which I must take out. The first time I took a cutting in Rome I had a bottle of water with me and thought what a good idea to put the cutting in that but I was still taking slugs of the water as well. It was only when I got back and was looking to see how to root them that I realised how poisonous they are and if you believe everything they say, then I’m probably lucky to be here! I root them in a mix of Perlite and John Innes seed & cuttings compost and they root very quickly. I’ve just taken a couple from the yellow one in case it doesn’t get through the winter this year. If you would like any cuttings, let me know and I’d be happy to send them, they’re so tough they would probably survive wrapped in damp kitchen towel in a jiffy bag.

Billdango – that’s good to know that they flower in Southampton and yours is growing well again. I wonder if my problem may have been that I planted them in the border in August when they were in flower and they didn’t have long enough to get established before the cold, damp weather arrived? I would think once they are established and a bit older they would have more chance of getting through a bad winter. Anyway, fingers crossed for my Grandiflora!
Thanks to everyone else who has welcomed me as well.

Jean
Nigel Fear

Re: New Member - Campsis Advice

Post by Nigel Fear »

Hi Jean.

Which part of Essex d you live in?

I live in Southend, and have the red form of Campsis, either Madame gallen or Indian summer[I can't remember which], and although it grows well, I've been a little disappointed by the flower display this year, though one down the road from me is smothered in blooms, hardy enough here though.

Nerium Oleander I tried once, kept it for about 3 years, but was so sick of the blackfly and scant-flowering that I gave up on it, dug it up, and grew something else in it's place. They do look lovely though when in full bloom and I'm tempted to try again some time, perhaps with Apricot coloured flowers which I quite like.

I've never grown Acacia pravissima, but do have a couple of A. Dealbata's, which are incredibly rampant, and I know what you mean by having to cut back a lot. Luckily one of my neighbours has a log-burner!
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Dave Brown
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Re: New Member - Campsis Advice

Post by Dave Brown »

Mine flowers well every year in Kent, and I'm only 15 miles from you Nigel. As Bill said, bit of it die back but are cut back and it grows away again :roll:
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jeanuk53

Re: New Member - Campsis Advice

Post by jeanuk53 »

Hi Nigel
I’m not that far from you, in Hornchurch, and I’ve always thought it was fairly mild and sheltered here but as I said I have previously lost two campsis radicans and also two A. dealbata although A. pravissima seems tough as old boots. I think the cold spring and late start to warmer weather probably affected some plants from warmer climes, i.e campsis and oleanders. All my oleanders are flowering well since the warm weather and my yellow Roman one which hadn’t flowered is just producing its first buds but sadly by the time they are mature it’ll be too late for them to actually flower, such a shame. I’ve never had a problem with pests on my oleanders and was surprised to hear you had had blackfly on yours. I think I need to prune mine this year as they have become very tall and a bit leggy although some are shooting from lower down now. They are beautiful things when flowering well and remind me of my favourite place – Italy! I love their scent as well. How do you look after your campsis in winter? Do you cut it back to hard wood when its finished flowering? I was thinking to protect it with some fleece if we get the same sort of winter we’ve had for the past few years.

Hi Dave - nice picture of your campsis – is it planted in the ground or in a container please? And like wise, do you cut back to hard wood before winter or leave it until spring to see how it has fared?

Sorry for the late response, I haven't logged on for a little while.


Thanks
Jean
Nigel Fear

Re: New Member - Campsis Advice

Post by Nigel Fear »

Jean.

I prune my Campsis in spring as and when it needs a tidy, chopping off any deadwood, and tying in [trying not to snap any new stems at the same time. :oops: ].
Maybe I took too much off this year too, but it;s also more shaded from other plants than is best for it, which I'm going to rectify for next year.
I'll keep an eye out for any Acacia dealbata seedlings, if you'd like to try again with this plant, I'm often weeding them out here!
There's a horrible old Lime tree on the street out the front,in early summer this is literally dripping with Aphids, and sticky honeydew on my car and any plants that are in the vicinity, this is the source of my problem with Aphid infestation.

Dave, nice photo. :D That's about the same colour of mine. Is that C. Radicans?
GREVILLE

Re: New Member - Campsis Advice

Post by GREVILLE »

You'll be pleased to know, Jean, I have located another C. Mme Galen and should have it in the garden by the weekend to celebrate the return of some warmer weather. I'll give it a bit more room this time :D
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