Shrub · Bignoniaceae
Crossvine
Bignonia capreolata
An easygoing native climber that puts on a spring show of 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
Want a vine that does most of the climbing itself? That's crossvine. It's a fast, woody climber from the southeastern United States, and it gets its name from the little cross shape you'll spot if you slice through an older stem. It hangs onto fences, walls, and arbors all on its own, thanks to tendrils tipped with sticky disks, so there's no tying needed. Come early spring it's covered in trumpet flowers, and the hummingbirds notice fast.
Here's the good part: it's about as easy as vines get. It'll take full sun or deep shade, it doesn't mind poor soil, it handles drought once it's rooted in, and it sails through winters from zone 5 to zone 9. The catch is that it really likes to grow. Leave it alone and it'll climb 30 to 50 feet and send up suckers from the roots, so it does want a strong support and a trim every year.
One thing to watch: it's often sold right next to the rowdier trumpet creeper, but they're not the same. Crossvine flowers earlier, behaves itself, and won't leave your skin itchy the way its cousin sometimes can.
Care
The short version: pop it in full sun for the most flowers, give it a sturdy support to climb, water it deeply only while it's settling in, and prune it hard right after the spring bloom so it doesn't get away from you.
Light
Crossvine's happy in anything from full sun to full shade, which is a big reason it's so easy. That said, sun is where it really shows off, with fuller growth and way more of those spring trumpets. Stick it in deep shade and it'll go leggy and barely flower, so brighter is better.
Water
While it's getting established, keep the soil evenly moist and you're golden. After that it's genuinely drought tolerant, so you only really need to water deeply when there's a long dry stretch. Most of the time? Rain's got it covered.
Soil
It's not picky about soil at all. Average, well-drained loam or sandy ground suits it fine, 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'll get by just about anywhere.
Temperature
This is a tough, cold-hardy native that handles roughly -20°F to 100°F (-29°C to 38°C), which covers zones 5 through 9. Winter doesn't bother it, and summer heat isn't a problem either.
Humidity
Average outdoor humidity is all it's after, so there's no number to worry about. What matters more is good air movement, since crowded growth in still, damp air is what brings on the odd leaf spot.
Feeding
Crossvine barely needs feeding, so don't overthink it. A light dose of balanced fertilizer or compost in spring is plenty for this vigorous native, and piling on nitrogen just grows leaves instead of flowers.
Pruning
Prune it hard right after it's done flowering to keep it in check on its support, because cutting before the bloom means kissing that year's flowers goodbye. And pull up root suckers as they show up, so the plant doesn't go wandering.
Repotting
Crossvine's a landscape climber, so it rarely sticks around in a pot for long. If you are growing one in a container, only move it up when it's clearly outgrown its space, which shows up as roots circling or escaping the pot, soil that dries fast, and top growth that's stalled.
Size & spacing
Give this vine plenty of elbow room. It climbs 30 to 50 feet (9 to 15 m) tall and spreads 6 to 9 feet (180 to 275 cm) wide, so put it somewhere a big, fast climber is welcome and back it up with a strong arbor or fence.
When to plant
Crossvine's hardy from zone 5 to 9, and the best time to plant it is spring or fall, while the weather's mild and the roots can settle in before summer or winter gets extreme. It blooms in late winter to early spring, sliding to May or June if you're at 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
Good news: crossvine hardly ever runs into pests or disease. The trouble it does cause usually comes down to its own vigor, a bit too much shade, or pruning at the wrong time. Spot what matches below and jump on it early.
The vine outgrows its support and swallows nearby plants
Crossvine climbs fast, that's just its nature, and its tendrils grab on with sticky disks that latch onto whatever's nearby. Too much shade makes it worse, since the vine stretches out looking for light. Cut it back hard right after it blooms and set it up with a sturdy arbor or fence sized 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? They're root suckers, which is just how crossvine spreads underground. Pull or dig them as soon as you notice them, and mow over any that come up in the grass. If you'd rather keep it put, sink a root barrier or plant it in a contained bed where a little spread won't bug 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's all leaves and no trumpets, too much shade is usually the culprit. Bad pruning timing hurts too, because cutting before the spring bloom takes the buds right off. Move or train it into more sun, go easy on the nitrogen, and only prune once it's 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 almost always just fungal leaf spot, a small cosmetic thing on a plant that mostly laughs off pests and disease. Thin the growth so air moves through, pull off the worst leaves, and water at the base instead of overhead. Crossvine's got no serious bug or disease problems, so spots like these hardly ever amount to much.
Fix:
- Improve air circulation by thinning growth
- Remove and dispose of badly affected leaves
- Avoid overhead watering
Toxicity
If you've got pets or kids, you can relax, because crossvine is not toxic. It's not on the ASPCA's list of poisonous plants, and it's 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 if a nosy cat nibbles a leaf, no big deal. A big mouthful of any plant might bring on a little drooling or a soft stool, but that's about as bad as it gets.
Dogs Safe
Dogs can chew the leaves and be totally fine. The most you'd see is some mild stomach upset if one wolfs down a big amount, and even that clears up on its own.
Horses Safe
There's no toxin here that bothers horses. They'll graze around crossvine just fine, though it's never a great idea for any animal to live on one plant.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can nibble the leaves without any risk. Just bring in new greens slowly, since a sudden pile of fresh foliage can upset a rabbit's gut.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep are in no danger from this vine. It just doesn't have the compounds that make some pasture plants a worry.
Birds Safe
Crossvine's no threat to birds at all. Those spring trumpets actually pull in hummingbirds, which sip the nectar without any trouble.
People Safe
This is the well-behaved crossvine, not its prickly cousin the trumpet creeper, so handling it won't leave your skin itchy. 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 are worth knowing for their flower color and habit, and these are the ones you're most likely to run into at a nursery.
Tangerine Beauty
Tangerine Beauty's the favorite by a mile, smothering itself in warm tangerine to apricot-orange trumpets and flowering more freely than the plain species.
Atrosanguinea
Atrosanguinea's a shorter, more low-key grower with darker purplish-red flowers and narrow, lance-shaped leaflets.
Dragon Lady
Dragon Lady's the one to grab if you're after deep red-orange flowers.
How to propagate
Making more crossvine is easy, and honestly it often does the work for you, self-seeding and rooting wherever a low stem lands on the ground.
SeedModerate
Fall or spring after pods mature · 1 to 2 growing seasons
Grab seed from the long, bean-like pods once they ripen, then sow it in fall or spring. Crossvine self-sows readily on its own, so volunteers tend to show up without you lifting a finger. Just 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'll root over several weeks. Root cuttings work too and are a documented method for this species, which comes in handy when you want copies of a selection you like.
LayeringEasy
Spring to summer · One season
Want 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, pretty much the same way the vine naturally spreads as it sprawls.
Myths
Crossvine and trumpet vine are the same plant.
They're in the same family, sure, but they're not the same vine. Crossvine climbs with tendrils tipped in sticky disks, blooms in early spring, and stays pretty well-behaved. Trumpet creeper's the pushy one, flowering in summer, and its foliage and sap can leave your skin itchy, so it's worth knowing which is which.