Campsis radicans – Trumpet Vine Bonsai – Colorado Rocky Mountain Bonsai

One of my first nursery tree finds was a yellow Campsis radicans – Trumpet vine from the Longmont Tree Farm. It was sitting out in south fields in amongst a bunch of sickly looking vines. I rescued it and a Virgina Creeper vine (now part of the Denver Botanic Bonsai Collection) and brought them home. I spent the following 10 years trying to turn it into a Bonsai Tree. I let the tree growing where it wanted to and did not do anything to it during the growing season. Late fall I would wire the branches where I wanted them to make a nice tree. In the spring the tree would bud out only to the where the wire made a bend on the branch. Sometimes not even that far. But I kept trying, I would be more careful in bending the branches, but just one failure after another. This spring I abandoned that method and started to let the tree bud out where ever. After the buds were growing well I cut them back to a pair of leaves (sounds familiar) doesn’t it? I was rewarded with buds right where I cut them back. At last the tree is ramifying. I am now on my third cutting the long shoots back. It seems the tree is now producing new branches in different spots on the tree that are not in areas where I cut back to. Great back budding all over now. I will keep this up until it freezing weather hits and the tree will be moved into the garage for the winter.

Trumpet vines will freeze in the spring when temps get to 32 degrees (f). One must keep this in mind and move the tree in doors if it even looks like it might freeze. I doubt this tree will ever bloom as a Bonsai tree, as I keep cutting the shoots back. I like the nebari on this tree a lot. This is a rather tall tree. That is a five gallon pot in the photos. I am so excited about this tree. I was going to throw the tree out several years ago, just wasting my time on it. Now I am in love with this beauty and I am going to have find a pot for it? Hmmm, I like problems like this!

Gallery 05-10-2021:

I thought I would show the tree in the spring as it is budding out. It did loose a few smaller branches over the winter which is typical of the tree, but no large branches were lost.