PlantFiles: Pink Trumpet Vine, Port St. Johns Creeper, Zimbabwe Creeper, Queen of Sheba, Port John’s Creeper
Podranea ricasoliana

I live in Port St. John Florida, love my Port St. John plant. It loves to be trimmed and blossoms alot more when pruned.

I had this plant in a clay planter 2ft in diam. for a decade in Manila. It grew up leaning on a 10-ft. wall and gave fragrant flowers profusely every summer. I had never seen any seed on it in the city. Two years ago I planted another specimen directly in the ground in Tagaytay, a slightly cool place 75km south of Metro Manila; it grew well there too, blooming profusely and producing a few seed pods. The seeds are contained in seed pods of varying lengths--from 1/2 ft. to 1-1/2 ft in length, looking like a string bean pod but a bit flattened and pointed at the end. Perhaps it's the warm climate, but the plant does not become invasive in the Philippines, so I don't regard it as a weed at all. Perfect against a perimeter wall where it can climb up and overflow at the top.

This vine appeared in the second summer after hurricane Ike, as did a lot of other weird plants. I believed it to be a weed until I saw it at the Antique Rose Emporium in Independence, TX. It has been in bloom since May and is profuse with flowers. True, nothng kills it, as I tried believing it was a weed. Will try to keep it controlled as it is invading the one tree remaining on the back property. This could be a full time job!

Some 35 years ago my father struggled to get this plant to grow on our property at the 2500 foot elevation on Maui, HI. He finally gave up, tossed it on a vegetative trash heap, and it took off. I have spent 25 years trying to eradicate this plant from the property. Though beautiful, it is highly invasive. It grows in partial shade and poor soil with little water. It will climb and smother trees. It has spread through 3-foot high grass. Poisoning and cutting have not stopped it. I've never seen seeds on it; it will root anywhere a branch touches the ground and I suspect it spreads by underground roots.

I bought this in Fredericksburg, Texas, as a "Lavender Trumpet Vine" two years ago, assuming it was just a lavender version of our prolific orange trumpet vine (campsis radicans).

I've been upset because I couldn't get it to bloom until August. What a relief to learn this is sold here as "DESERT Trumpet Vine" and isn't supposed to bloom until fall. Whew!

Am disappointed, however, to have given it such a prominent place in my garden, as it takes up a lot of space for something that dies to the ground in winter and doesn't bloom through the summer. I think there are better plants for our area.

Borderline Zone 8b/9a - This vine blooms for me here in September and its flowering lasts until the frost (usually in December). It has completely covered a fence about 4 ft high x 20 ft long in about 2 years growth. I have it interplanted with Thunbergia grandiflora (Bengal Clock Vine/Blue Sky Vine) which blooms at the same time of year. I don't know of anyone else in my area that is growing the Podranea ricasoliana and I don't remember from what nursery I happened to buy it, but I'm glad I did! This afternoon, I found several rooted portions of the vine where the vine had come into contact with the soil. They seem to have potted up with little stress, so I'm looking forward to having more of the vine and sharing it with others.

Jeremy

LOVE this vine, and LOVE the fragrance!
It is one of my favorites!
This vine dies back to the ground here in zone eight, but returns happily each Spring.
Bloom fragrance reminds me of juicyfruit gum...yummy!

Grows very profusly in the middle of Mexico - flowers just about all year, losing some leaves in Dec & Jan. Used here to cover wire fencing - creating a solid barrier that is used to protect property from excessive dust on unpaved roads. Planting - every 3 feet. Seeds, long thin pods with very small feathered seeds - hundreds per pod. Needs lots of pruning to keep controled.
Sheila in Mexico

In Flordia it seems to do will with pruning in late Aug.or eary Sept.. I am very glad to have found out what it is called. Thank you.

Also known as Port St. John's Creeper or Port St. John's-klimop. Can be contained in large planter and trained on a wall or pruned to form a shrub. Prune back hard every year to keep it shrub sized. Pruning improves flowering. Best pruning time is in winter or early spring before new growth starts.