Tecoma Species, Cape Honeysuckle, Cape Trumpet-Flower

I have this in multiple places in my yard and I love its versatility. I'm growing it in two places along fence line as a hedge, and on a...Read More hill I have in my back yard as shrubs. I do have to occasionally cut it back to control but I don't see that as a problem/issue. I knew what I was getting planting these, and they do grow fast. The hummingbirds love it and I've also had the pleasure of having birds nest and raise their young in the shrubs. It blooms consistently here in San Diego and is a staple to my garden as it’s always lush and green.

In Cape Coral, FL
Pros:
Easy to grow
Prolific flowering
Flowers often when other plants have stopped for th...Read Moree season
Fall, winter and spring flowers in my area
Does well in a pot or in the ground

Cons:
VERY invasive in my zone 10 garden!! It's trying to take over the yard! (pot it to keep it under control).
It gets kind of viny along the ground.
Propagates easily from cuttings, or where stems have touched the ground and start to root.

I doubt I will ever plant this again in the future.

I brought a gallon size Tecoma Capensis plant from down south to Vermont to use as an annual for a container on my full sun exposure deck...Read More. Thinking it would add variety to my assortment of hummingbird nectar plants I was eager for the plant to perform. It had not occurred to me that the bloom cycle for this plant was photoperiodic.

The plant loved the location and grew to a healthy size full of lush foliage. Not one single bloom appeared through late August and by then the hummingbirds had already begun to migrate. Finally around first of October, the plant began to put on a dazzling show of conspicuous orange blooms from every branch. However my last juvenile hummingbird was spotted on September 24. This year I will research my plants more thoroughly.

Great plant with great blooms. I have only 2 complaints about it. One, it is not near invasive enough here in Texas.
And two...Read More, it is not hardy here in South Central Texas. I am learning to grow it in a pot and keep it trimmed into more of a bush. But it not invasive at all here. Other than those 2 complaints, I am very positive about Cape Honeysuckle.

This can grow to 20-30' tall in some climates (Southern California). It spreads aggressively by suckering, and also roots where stem tips...Read More touch the ground.

As an alternative, there is a similar looking hybrid shrub, Tecoma x smithii, with similar ornamental qualities and year-round orange flowers, but without the aggressive suckering. It's a hybrid of this species with the Mexican Tecoma stans var. velutina. A big wide shrub with round flower clusters at the ends of long lanky floppy branches, which make it hard to grow as a standard---but it can be espaliered.

I purchased this orange cape honeysuckle at a natives nursery and was told it is not invasive. This could not be more of a lie, it has c...Read Moreompletly taken over my garden and is now spreading to my entire yard. I have tryed to control it, didn't work. I am now in a battle of cutting it back as much as possible. I live in Orlando Fl, if you live in a simular climate Do Not plant this. If anyone knows how to get rid of it or kill it plaeas let me know.

This is a very versatile plant. The yellow variety is neater, it forms more of a shrub and also flowers profusely. It admittedly gets les...Read Mores attention from sunbirds and the like than the red and orange varieties but the display compensates for that especially if combined with a similar growing shrub with purple flowers.

The orange variety (which is the wild form) is a vigorous grower which tends to scramble on open ground, if planted under trees it scrambles to the top to get the sun it so deperately needs.

For a real treat, plant a Red or Yellow tecomaria with multiple basal stems and train it into a shrub.
Prune lightly between flowerings and feed with a balanced fertilizer and the reward will be well worth it.

It can become untidy if the wild form is planted but cultivars are generally not. Remember it flowers best in full sun.

Lastly shrubs and plants from South Africa and Africa in general are kept in check by veld fires and the browsing of wild animals. It is essential to emulate this with a good maintenance program.

The plants full genetic potential can be realised by planting it in the correct spot and provifding it with a balanced fertilser.

In closing all I have left to say is enjoy the plants from our beautiful country.

I put one of these in a flower bed designed to attract hummingbirds. It had beautiful flowers and was very popular with the hummingbirds....Read More After about two weeks, the flowers, then the leaves, started to wilt.

When I first noticed the flowers wilting, I gave it a lot of water (probably way too much), which helped the leaves for about a day or two, but not the flowers. Then the leaves started to shrivel. Within a few days, every leaf was brown and dry as a bone. Once the leaves started to shrivel, the whole plant went very quickly (2 to 3 days at the most).

Any idea what went wrong? My soil has a pH of about 8.

I have since read that this plant is prone to root rot, and needs well-drained soil. I'm going to try again. Hopefully, third times the charm.

The Cape Honeysuckle conjures up childhood memories for me...my grandparents had grown a wind shelter hedge of it, and I always associate...Read More it with nana.

This plant is great in the right situations. Drought tolerant. Lush green all year with beautiful blooms for several months. Easy to pr...Read Moreopagate. Dies back a little in temps below 25. It can be easily contained if you do so early on.

I used this as a very effective screen from the neighbor. It was in a bed about 2.5' x 15' with a block wall on one side and sidewalk on the other. Trimmed it back & shaped about twice a year. Roots did not invade sidewalk or go into neighbor's yard. This is one way to keep it contained.

Rooted a small cutting on a southwestern hot dry slope and it survived successfully with very little water for 3-4 years, then irrigation was added. It grew to about 15' tall and 3-4' wide in 6-7 years. Space / containment was not an issue in that situation. In the proper place, this can be a great plant.

This versative, flowering plant grows as a lush 18" groundcover in the south-west side of my property (blistering-hot desert sun) and it ...Read Moregrows as 7' tall hedge in the well-shaded north side. Despite it's dainty looks, the Cape Honeysuckle thrives here in the central California valley area (zones 8-9), despite some light die-back during particularly cold weather. Best of all, it's been totally pest-free. In fact, the bright orange blooms, which give you a non-stop show for months on end, hold no attraction whatsoever to my neighbors' voracious snails.

I hate this plant and would do ANYTHING to avoid it. It is invasive, aggressive and almost impossible to kill. Spreading 15' or more in...Read Moreto the surrounding territory. It's a nightmare. It's NOT the plant you want to use unless you have a lot of time to dig and cut to control it. TOO much work. I put this plant next to Bamboo and Horsetails .... a nightmare.

Love love love this plant in clearwater fl. True, it is a little wild and will require pruning and watching. But if you're going for the ...Read Moretropical look, all your plants are pretty much like that. Made it through our Feb frosts fine. OK with minimal water, takes punishing sun. Nice in those parts of my yard that don't get much love and are away from the house. I think it should probably be the main specimen in a planting, not a supporting cast member.

Very showy in autumn. I recommend it be planted as a free-standing shrub in the lawn so that as you mow any unwanted suckers of the Tecom...Read Morea will be cut down.

We purchased a house with Tecomaria capensis lining a fence bordering our property in 2010. It makes a great privacy screen, though duri...Read Moreng the winter most of the plants (we have about 12 individual speciments) lost their leaves, leaving our house visible to the street (which wasn't so bad). Some of the plants kept their leaves - I'm not sure if it was because of the lack of water (I watered all of the plants very infrequently over the summer) or the cold (it never got below 35F). I suspect it was the watering, since several other plants in the area have kept their leaves, and the ones on our property that kept our leaves were near a patio covered in flagstone.

One negative is that it can be invasive, but so far it hasn't been a problem.

The flowers are beautiful and attract hummingbirds. I love this plant.

We are lining our property on 2 sides with this plant as they grow to about 12 feet high. They are very hearty in the heat, but occasi...Read Moreonly freeze back a little with a heavy frost.
It is easy to start new plants. We haven't had any trouble controling them as others seem to have had.

Greetings,
I now have two of these and both in pots (big ones!), with trellis to train them to. Although I may shape them into ...Read Moresmall trees. It gets up to 110 here and they have done well, the first one did well during our mild winter frost. They are a lovely addition to my collection of hummingbirds plants....they both have excellent drainage, but I have them on large saucers with lots of rounded stones to keep it from sitting in water. I have over 150 potted plants of all varieties, most can handle being in one spot. I do have to switch several to better spots according to the season. The Cape Honeysuckles remain in their spots and doing fine. This is how I deal with plants that tend to be invasive. In time I will redress them with fresh soil and trim their roots. So you may consider doing the same....they are worth the flowers and "hummers" love them.

Lovely blooms but this plant is very invasive! We spent weeks trying to eradicate it from our backyard. It was climbing high into the tre...Read Morees and traveling along the ground and taking over everything in sight! We thought we got it all but it is back and growing everywhere once again.

Southern Gardeners ... beware of this one!

This plant grows well in Las Vegas! Provides good color for desert landscape. May need protection from frost. Usually will grow back ...Read Morefrom roots if damaged by cold. Would recommend:)

Great plant for winter color here in Nevada. It starts to bloom right now in early September and continues through March. It may freeze...Read More back in winter. I have about 10 of these planted, and last winter some died back and some didn't. With an eastern exposure catching the early morning sun, they will survive the cold better, also helps if they are planted close to the house. With the eastern exposure they will also avoid the hot pm sun in summer which can burn the leaves here.

I love this plant but have no luck with it. I can't tell if I'm over or under watering it - if I need a different fertilizer...please se...Read Moree my plants photo under "GoLonnyCA"...HELP!

This is a beautiful plant and grows extremely well, however the roots are extremely invasive. Give it lots of room and don't allow any v...Read Morealuable deep rooting plants or trees near it. I had to remove one that was planted approximately five feet from a young but tall Ash tree because it was choking it out.
I live in Henderson, NV, and this shrub, if left unchecked, will grow 6 to 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide... however mine was not that big. I pruned it on a regular basis, and kept it at a stable 3 feet. The roots, however, were uncontrollable.

One beautiful plant that help creates an exotic landscape, when mixed with various drought tolerant species. A good portion of San Diego ...Read Moreis decorated with these. Grows extremely fast and needs pruning to gain spread control. Will spread like wild fire If not.

It did great in a very big container, but when put in the ground has been hard to get it to bloom. A nursery person told me to n...Read Moreot water it much because it blooms when stressed.

You will need an entire yard for this plant in Gibsonton, FL!
I let it just grow for about a year without pruning and it had claim...Read Moreed it's own large area of the backyard. It sends out runners underground that will pop up with more sections of the plant far away from the main plant. The flowers are beautiful though and they were attracting alot of different butterflies. I painstakingly removed mine and hope I got it all.
In my opinion, it would require too much management to keep under control in my area.

This dark green with bright orange flowers looks terrific around the koi fish pond. We enclosed 10 of the 1 gallon plants within a root b...Read Morearrier because of the invasive root system and am glad we did so. After fertilizing with fish emulsion to encourage growth, they took off! Alternating the Cape Honeysuckle with the 10 Mexican Marigolds creates a colorful and cheerful area.

This plant roots freely at any point where the cascading limbs touch the soil, but I would not call it "invasive." The new plants can be...Read More easily dug up and transplanted (or traded in plant swaps!)

It is a mistake, I think, to believe that this plant (Tecomaria sp.) is truly a honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.). It has the common name of Cape Honeysuckle only because the flowers somewhat resemble a honeysuckle blossom, but the Cape Honesuckle is more of a hard stemmed, non-twining shrub. It can be pruned to a tree-like shape as it matures.

In my Zone 8b/9a garden, it has survived winter temperatures as low as 28 F on a few nights with no freeze damage. It begins blooming around November and continues flowering through about March. I have it interplanted with Winter Cassia (Senna bicapsularis) because the Winter Cassia blooms about the same time as the Cape Honeysuckle and I enjoy the interplay of cadmium orange flowers of the Cape Honeysuckle with the cadmium yellow of the Cassia.

Jeremy

So far its doing well. Its a rampant bloomer through my Houston winters when not much else is blooming. It has a beautiful color.

Although the foliage is very beautiful and useful in flower arrangements, note that the flowers themselves do not seem to do well in flor...Read Moreal arrangements. Once cut, the flowers fall off the spikes very quickly (within a few days). This is a very aggressive, fast growing plant in warmer areas.

They are very popular in Corpus Christi, TX, and south to the border. Solid blooms right now and all summer. Blooms all year. Not invasiv...Read Moree here. Beautiful foliage for cut flower arrangements!

This grows in Zone 7b, in West Texas heat and blooms in mid summer to late autumn. It dies back each year and reemerges in late spring. ...Read More It is not invasive here.

I've just planted two 3-gallon plants in two different locations...one in full sun against a wood fence, and the other in part sun agains...Read Moret the same wood fence, but surrounding by more foliage (full sun for 11a-2pm only). The one in full sun is doing significantly better. Its already grown about 8-10" tall and about the same wide, while the other has grown 2". I'm still optimistic for the second one, as its planted near some other bushes that were recently transplanted and havent been doing too well so maybe there is just more transplant shock as a result of this area's dirt (there was more milorganite in the soil there as well, so maybe it was over fertilized?)...so maybe its just the soil, but at least its holding its own. Maybe by fall, I'll have a picture of them both up on the site!

Also, about 1 month after planting, seed pods were evident, which I collected. I was able to germinate half of them quite successfully.

This plant is a lovely addition to a hedge line between neighbors on Longboat Key, Florida. It does get a bit woody as it ages, and need...Read Mores to be pruned semi-annually so that it does not overtake the area.

Beautiful blooms arrive in summer and continue throughout the fall. It makes a lovely carpet as the blooms fall to the ground.

It blooms in fall and winter for me...humming birds love it and it is drought and poor soil tollorent. Will die if frezes so it needs protection.

This honeysuckle is an evergreen and grows moderately fast. It prefers well-drained soil. Prune after flowering is done.