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Bignonia capreolata 'Tangerine Beauty' (Cross Vine) - Easy to grow and vigorous semi-evergreen woody vine that typically grows as high as it has support - easily reaches up to 10 to 20 feet high and has been known to reach 30 feet. It has opposite pairs of leaves that are themselves composed of a pair of 3 to 5 inch long by 1- to 2-inch-wide leaflets with a tendril emerging between that is branched with clawed tips that can twist around or clasp narrow or rough objects and even adhere to flat surfaces with the tendril tips becoming adhesive disks, allowing this vine to adhere to nearly any surface. In late spring it provides a floral show with an abundance of trumpet-shaped tangerine-colored blooms followed by sporadic flowering summer into fall. The flowers, clustered at the leaf axils, are 2 inches long with yellow throats surrounded by tangerine-colored tubes. Plant in sun or shade though it flowers best in full to part sun. Water regularly to occasionally when actively growing in the warmer months for best results but this plant can also tolerate wet soils or infrequent irrigation once well established. It is cold hardy to below -10°F and remains mostly evergreen in mild climates. This is a showy vine that is attractive to hummingbirds. In the garden it can grow rapidly up a tree, cover a trellis, pergola, fence, wall or a large rock and performs well in just about any soil condition.
Bignonia capreolata is native to the southern US from Florida north to Maryland and west into the Ohio River Valley and Texas where it is found in wide variety of habitats including forested floodplains, uplands and limestone escarpments. The name for the genus honors Abbe Jean Paul Bignon, the librarian in the court of the French King Louis XV and good friend of the French botanist, Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656 - 1708). The specific epithet comes from the Latin word 'capreol' which means "tendril" in reference to these structures on the compound leaves. The common name Crossvine is given this plant because of the pattern seen when a stem is cut transversely.
We grew this plant from 2004 until we closed the nursery in 2025 and thank the late plantsman J.C. Ralston, of University of North Carolina, who re-introduced this fine cultivar into the nursery trade in 1999 after trialing it at the arboretum that now bears his name - it had previously been introduced in the 1950s by Wayside Gardens. Images courtesy of Mr. Greenjeans (Randy Arnowitz).
The information displayed on this page about Bignonia capreolata 'Tangerine Beauty' is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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