Campsis vs Bignonia

[Paul S]

Oh Massed Mind Hive, advice please. Charlie, especially, but all opinions welcomed.

I find myself in the market for a Campsis. Not a yellow one. I want orange-red, rather than salmon. Vermillion with an orange throat would be super. I'm thinking plain radicans rather than the hybrid or 'Flamenco', which seems a bit more pink.

But, looking at the Roseland house catalogue, I find Bignonia capriolata. Yum. Struggling to see why not.

Which should I get? No space for both, sadly.

[charlie]

Horses for courses Paul, The flowers of Campsis are more obvious and showy even at a distance but flowering can be shy if not given full sun and good warmth, the hybrid is better behaved than radicans which suckers like mad. If you can get hold of the true Madam Galen (see the one on the house at wisley) then that is fabulous. Mine unfortunately is a seedling of it, as are most I come across.

Campsis radicans
Campsis radicans by charliepridham, on Flickr

Campsis hybrid

campsis madam galen001 by charliepridham, on Flickr

Bignonia flowers earlier (May/June) is more reliable to do so, the clone 'Dragon Lady' shows up better and flowers for longer than the straight species, although apparently (according to the late David Feix) ours is a good color form. here it is reliably evergreen but does a leaf change as it starts flowering. In my opinion it is better closer than distant as the flowers are smaller than those of Campsis

Bignonia capreolata
bignonia capreolata2 by charliepridham, on Flickr

Bignonia 'Dragon Lady'

bignonia dragon lady DSC_0008 (2) by charliepridham, on Flickr

[Paul S]

Perfect answer, Charlie. Thank you. Bignonia is ahead! My next step is to PM you.... :D

[Paul S]

Campsis radicans 'Indian Summer' enters the equation! Apricot with a dark throat.

[MartinNicklin]

I’ve got Campsis Tropical Summer and it is absolutely beautiful. It’s about to come into flower so will post when it does. People are surprised at how exotic it looks and cannot believe it is able to be grown outdoors in the UK.
TBH I’m surprised it doesn’t crop up more. The Campsis plants available in the UK are really lovely. I fell for it a number of years ago when I saw an entire wall at the Schloß Mirabell in Salzburg covered with it.

[Paul S]

I grew Mdm Galen when I first moved in here against the south wall of the house but it got too big for me to plant the giant cacti as well so I got rid of it. Not easy - came up from the roots for years! Structures and walls for climbers were in short supply in my older garden so I kind of left thoughts of campsis behind.

In my new bit of garden my focus has shifter more to colour and it has also thrown up several places for climbers, using old conifer trunks as hosts. Seeing a big ibe locally in full swing got my Campsis goggles back on. Charlie doesn't think he has any Bignonia left after raiding them for cuttings so I have ordered 'Indian Summer' and 'Flamenco' from Gardening Express and will see which I prefer for different spots. Bignonia can wait until next year.

[MartinNicklin]

Mine has just started to come out. The flowers are noticeably larger (grandiflora, I suppose, rather than radicans) than others I have seen. There was one at Oxford Botanic Gardens (photo attached) which was just starting to flowers but they were much smaller.

[Paul S]

... I have ordered 'Indian Summer' and 'Flamenco' from Gardening Express and will see which I prefer for different spots. Bignonia can wait until next year.

... and what a bunch of useless cowboys they have turned out to be. Plants arrived on the 30th, they sent plain Campsis radicans instead of 'Indian Summer'. I filled out the contact form immediately, no response. 3 days later filled it out again, no response. Filled out the online chat 3 days ago, no response. Too late, but I finally got around to checking TrustPilot reviews and it seems this exact thing happens in around 30% of their reviews. 30%. That is shoddy. :evil:

[Chad]

Thanks for that Paul,

They are the only source I can find for Cordyline 'Burgundy Spire', but I had been hesitating having a recollection of incorrect naming from some years ago.

I was optimistic that they may have gotten better with time.

I'll give them a few more years to improve.

Chad

ps. Does anyone else know an affordable source for Cordyline 'Burgundy Spire'?

[MartinNicklin]

Don’t hold your breath Chad. I bought from them years ago. Rubbish.

Paul, I hope you left a review. Poor reviews are the only way to hold some of these companies to account, especially with live plants which we cannot select in person. We rely on their honesty, integrity and professionalism, not just in terms of the quality of the plants themselves but also with regard to customer care.
Years ago, I wouldn’t have touched plants from T&M with a barge pole, such was the astonishing extent of their one star grading on Trustpilot. They had to change and it appears they have, though I’ve still had a couple of iffy plants from them. Their customer service is now excellent however and this is where they differ from this company. I always check places out on Trustpilot now. Like you, I got fed of receiving atrocious plants.