Pyrostegia Species, Flame Vine, Golden Shower, Orange Trumpet Creeper

On Mar 19, 2016, coriaceous from ROSLINDALE, MA wrote:

Spectacular floral display lasting for months---this is one of the showiest of flowering climbers.

This is a big, heavy, fast-growing vine, but in Florida it has never been observed to set seed. It can climb and smother tall trees, and its weight can damage structures it climbs on, but its increase is vegetative only. If allowed to lie on the ground, the stems can root at the nodes. In Florida, this is not a serious threat to natural areas, and here it is not invasive in the way ecologists use the term. According to the USDA, it is not a noxious weed in any US state.

This plant climbs by tendrils, not by twining. Unmanaged plants tend to bloom only at the top, but you can have flowers up and down the whole height of the plant by regularly cutting back a fracti... read moreon of the stems close to the ground.

The flowers are usually orange (not gold), but on some (rare) plants the flowers are yellow, and on others, red.

The principal bloom season is the dry/cool season, but in favorable climates it can bloom year-round. In Florida, its main season is fall-winter, but I've seen spectacular displays in late March, too.

On Apr 11, 2008, patray from paphos,
Cyprus wrote:

I thought you would like to know that this plant grows well in Cyprus although maybe not quite as fast as I have not found it invasive at all. The winter temperatures can go down to 2-3 deg. centigrade at night but more usually 9 deg. (Jan to March) Day time temperatures average about 15 deg. I mention this because I have seen a hardiness map which says the plant likes temps. above 20 deg. cent. I have it as an arch over the gate and it has been in full bloom since November and is just dying now. It's a beautiful sight and attracts many comments. I first saw it growing on the wild on the roadsides in Mauritius and searched for on to grow in Cyprus as I did not think it would like my other garden in London!

On Mar 1, 2006, MotherNature4 from Bartow, FL (Zone 9a) wrote:

This plant does well in zone 9a. It will burn back in our occasional freeze, but will come right back out and bloom the next year. It will climb to the top and bloom of whatever it's using for support, even a 60 ft. oak tree.

On Jun 3, 2003, Monocromatico from Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil (Zone 11) wrote:

It´s a fast growing climber that requires full sun. It may grow covering the ground, so it will need a support. Keep it away from your shrubs and small trees, because it grows faster and may cover the leaves, blocking the sun and sometimes killing the supporting plant. However, it has wonderful flowers, and blooms vigorously. It grows spontaneously on open fields in the brazilian south-southeast regions.

One side note: there´s a parasite weed of the genus Psittacanthus that has flowers that look like Pyrostegia´s... if you see orange tubular flowers coming from your tree, see if you can find the climbing stem coming from the ground. The parasite doesn´t have this kind of stem. Plus, check if the flower is a closed tube and not just long separate erect petals. The second one... read more is the parasite.