Podranea ricasoliana

The Pink Trumpet Vine, known as Podranea ricasoliana, is a marvel of nature. It is a large climber shrub with impressive ornamental value in mild climates if given the space it requires due to its natural vigour, allowing for unrestricted growth without pruning. Mostly deciduous, it blooms late but generously, displaying beautiful clusters of pale pink flowers in the shape of large, slightly fragrant trumpets. While its cold resistance is limited, this trumpet vine is not demanding in terms of soil and water once established. However, it requires warmth and sunlight to flower well. It is an excellent climber for a Mediterranean garden. Elsewhere, it can be cultivated without difficulty in containers and stored during winter.

The Pink Trumpet Vine, also known as Ricasoli's Trumpet Vine or Orchid Vine, is another species in the Bignoniaceae family, native to South Africa and Zimbabwe. It is a semi-woody shrub with a woody base and strong sarmentous branches that lack a support system, so it will need to be trained. It can reach 7 to 9 metres (23 to 29 feet) in all directions under favourable conditions, thanks to its rapid growth. Annual growth is around 2 metres (7 feet) in fertile soil. Vegetation is destroyed at temperatures below -4°C (24.8°F), which explains why the foliage is mostly deciduous in our climates. The flowering period is late and prolonged, usually starting in September and ending in November if the weather remains mild. The flowers bloom at the tips of the current year's shoots, clustered in branched clusters. They have trumpet-shaped flowers, long and wide, measuring 6 to 8 cm (2 to 3in). Each flower consists of a tube that widens into 5 rounded and undulate lobes. They are pale pink-lilac with yellow markings and heavily striated with rose-purple at the throat. This slightly fragrant flowering is nectar-rich and attracts bees and bumblebees. The foliage consists of leaves with 11 leaflets, fairly light green in colour, finely toothed along the edges. In the event of a severe frost, all above-ground parts of the plant are destroyed, but it will regrow from the base in spring.

Podranea ricasoliana can be used in various ways in a mild climate garden, to cover a pergola, a sparsely foliated tree in autumn, a wall sheltered from cold winds, an unsightly building, or a south-facing facade. This exotic and luxuriant plant can withstand short periods of freezing temperatures around -8°C (17.6°F) in a sheltered position, but it must be protected during the first few years of cultivation. This is its only requirement and perhaps its only weakness, as it can thrive in any well-prepared, deep soil, even one that is calcareous and relatively dry in summer, without hindering its joyful flowering.