Looking for something to brighten a wall? These vines have proven themselves in Texas

They’re not known as well as wisteria, and they’re not as fragrant as Carolina jessamine, but if you’re looking for a vine that will brighten a fence or a wall at this time of the year, crossvines are ready and willing.

The good news is that they’ve already proven themselves under Texas conditions. They’re native to big parts of the South clear into East Texas, so they’ve stood up to our soils and our climate. They were hurt by the extreme cold of February 2021, but that was so out-of-the-ordinary that most of us are willing to forget it and plant another crossvine or two if that’s what it takes. That’s because we love them so much.

Botanically it’s Bignonia capriolata. The generic name was bestowed by French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort in honor of his buddy Abbe’ Jean-Paul Bignon. (Don’t worry. It won’t be on the test.) As for the common name, before you start looking for crosses in its flowers, it gets its name “cross” vine from the shape of the pith (center) of the vines’ stems. Those botanists have all the fun.

This is a big vine, growing to 30 to 40 feet tall (or long). It climbs by tendrils, but it also twines around its supports. It is semi-evergreen (similar to roses and azaleas), with leaves that are bright green in spring, darker green in the summer and reddish-purple for those leaves that persist in cold weather.

Crossvines have their heaviest bloom in the spring, although they’ll bloom sporadically the rest of the growing season. Their flowers resemble those of the more assertive and much more invasive native trumpetcreeper (Campsis radicans). It’s a treat to be hiking through a woodland and come across a single plant clambering up a tree trunk with clusters of blossoms dangling down at eye level.

The native form of crossvine is most commonly orange-red on the outside and yellow on the inside of its tubular blooms.

And that’s where I get to introduce you to a couple of other options. Selections of crossvines have been made over the years. The very popular ‘Tangerine Beauty’ has showy orange flowers, while ‘Atrosanguinea’ has dark, purplish-red flowers on more compact plants.

On to the less common types, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen the variety ‘Wabash Valley,’ but in searching for it online, I found several sources. It’s stunning, with its rich yellow flowers that are heavily accented with deep red throats and outsides of their petals. ‘Dragon Lady’ is salmon-red over both sides of its petals and sepals. ‘Jekyll’ is a clear and bright orange, but it is certainly anything but common in the nursery trade.

There are several others, but like some of the ones I’ve already mentioned, they’ll be available only from Internet sources. You’re most like to find the first three in local retail nurseries.

Crossvines grow quickly enough that a 1- or 2-gallon plant will be adequate if you find one. The trend, however, is toward slightly larger plants. Set it out against its support, preferably a post or a pole so it can climb. It will cling to a stone wall, but a bit of added support will help hold it in place.

No special soil preparation is needed to grow this great vine in North Central Texas. Oh, I guess you wouldn’t want to plant it in white caliche bedrock, but common sense might have told you that. Beyond that, any standard garden soil will suffice.

Your plant will thrive in morning sun and a bit of protection from the hot afternoon sun in the summer. That’s particularly important if you’re going to be asking it to grow against a reflective, light-colored wall. Eastern exposures are best, but crossvines will also thrive in full sun as long as they’re sheltered from reflective sunlight.

Fertilize crossvines with a high-nitrogen or, more probably an all-nitrogen fertilizer with 30 to 40 percent of that nitrogen in encapsulated or coated form. Feed them immediately after they finish blooming and again about 60 days later, then again in early fall.

As with any spring-flowering shrub or vine, pruning should be done immediately after the biggest round of spring blooms. That will be the time to prune out all the dead wood and reshape the plants to give the plants a full season of growth to fill in.

Should you wish to propagate your own crossvines, perhaps from one of the unusual types that I mentioned, they are started from cuttings. Wait for the flush of new spring growth to begin maturing in late spring or very early summer, then use 4-inch cuttings. Strip the bottom sets of leaves off each stem and dip the cuttings into rooting hormone powder. Tap off the excess and insert them into a 6-inch pot filled with a mix of equal amounts of peat moss and perlite. Water the mix before you start inserting the cuttings and use a pencil to prepare holes for the cuttings. Firm the potting soil up around each cutting, then water the pot thoroughly. Put a layer of dry cleaner’s plastic over the top to hold in the humidity. Wait a few weeks for roots to develop. Pot the rooted cuttings into 4-inch pots and grow your new plants for a couple of months before repotting them.