Madame Galen Plant Info
If you need a plant that will both be beautiful and yet doesn’t need much maintenance, try growing a Madame Galen. This gorgeous trumpet vine relative can grow up to 25 feet (8 m.) in length and climbs using its aerial roots. In just a couple of seasons, any eyesore in your landscape can be transformed with lacy foliage and bright colored blooms. Best of all, Madame Galen needs no special care and only minimal maintenance. Madame Galen trumpet vines are a cross between American and Chinese trumpet vines. Campsis tagliabuana owes its genus name to the Greek ‘kampe,’ which means curved, and refers to the showy stamen of the flowers. The species name is a nod to the Tagliabue brothers, Italian nurserymen that first developed the plant. The foliage is extremely attractive, shiny green and up to 15 inches (38 cm.) long with 7 to 11 leaflets. The stems are woody and twine around themselves to help support the vine. It’s the blooms that are the standout though. They are 3 inches (8 cm.) across, salmon red to orange-red with yellow throats. The vine will bloom all summer long and is attractive to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Growing Madame Galen Trumpet Creeper
This is a very tolerant plant and thrives in either full sun or partial shade. Madame Galen has the potential to become invasive in some zones, so exercise caution and keep an eye on this rampant grower. It has the capacity to self-seed and produces copious suckers. Whatever structure it will grow on needs to be quite strong, as a mature vine develops many heavy wooden stems. The vine is also excellent as a ground cover over rockeries or piles of rocks or stumps that need to be hidden. Madame Galen trumpet vines like a hot, dry area once established.
Care of Madame Galen
Campsis have few insect or pest problems. Keep young vines moist as they establish and help them a bit as they climb initially. The biggest problem is the potential to spread to areas where it is not wanted. Pruning is necessary to keep the plant from getting out of hand. Campsis flowers grow on new growth, so prune in late winter to early spring before new shoots appear. Cut vines back to within three to four buds to encourage a more compact plant.
