It's a Tree that Hummingbirds Love!

I have known about Tecomaria capensis or Cape Honeysuckle for a long time. It is called "Cape" honeysuckle as it refers to the Eastern Cape of South Africa where it is native. When I drive around many people use this robust plant for a hedge, unfortunately, this usually entails chopping off all of the flowers to maintain a strict geometry. 

As you know I love hummingbirds! If a plant description says anything about the plant being popular with hummingbirds, I will probably try to grow it. That is, except for Tecomaria capensis because it has the small problem of wanting world domination. It is a known aggressive spreader, it roots at any node touching the ground, spreads by runners and seeds, and it can get out of control quite easily and that scared me away from trying to grow it in my garden. 

Well I found the perfect solution for my garden. This is normally a vine-like shrub, but it can be trained as a standard tree! Perfect! I have grown this in a large pot for over a year now and am very pleased with how well it grows and how well it blooms. No way can it spread because it is in a pot on my deck, so the hummingbirds get their flowers and I don't have to deal with taming this wild beast. It just blooms all of the time! After a big bloom period, I trim the branches to encourage more dense branching and it doesn't miss a beat. Soon it is putting on more flower buds. This a veritable hummingbird feeder 365 days of the year!

Tecomaria capensis 'Riot Red' tree                                                           S. Reeve

While the regular species has bright orange flowers, and there is also a yellow-blooming hybrid, there is a new selection with rich red flowers called, Tecomaria 'Riot Red'. Not only are the flowers a very beautiful color, but the flowers themselves are much larger than the species. The flowers occur in short terminal racemes (at the ends of branches). 

Tecomaria capensis 'Riot Red' flowers                                                                                                S. Reeve

As you can see from the photo this flower is perfect for hummingbirds. Although, it is pollinated by a different bird in South Africa called a Sunbird which is a little larger than a hummingbird. Unlike our hummingbirds, they cannot hover and must land on the plant to sip nectar. Here is a photo of a Greater Double-collared Sunbird from Anne who writes a blog called, "Something Over Tea."

Greater Double-collared Sunbird                                                                                                    Anne

What is curious about these flowers is no matter how the bunch is oriented on the plant the flowers will always move to an upright position. Here is a photo of this. The raceme of flowers was hanging down but all of the flowers have flipped over to be in the correct positions for effective pollination by an upright bird. The stamens of the flowers are didynamous or occur in two pairs of matching stamens. Didynamous stamens is a characteristic of the Bignoniaceae family. The stamens and pistil curve over the back of the flower and end up on the roof of the flower, positioned so that if a bird sticks its head into the flower looking for nectar, the stamens brush pollen onto the back of the head of the bird for transfer to the next flower visited. Mother Nature sure is clever and efficient! The tubular flowers are synsepalous and sympetalous (fused) with five lobes and a zygomorphic petal arrangement which means bilaterally symmetrical.

Upright flowers of Tecomaria capensis                                                                                           S. Reeve

I am very pleased with this plant so far. It gets a pan of dishwater every few days and seems to be doing well in spite of that. Honeybees visit it too. 

Oddly pinnate compound leaves                                                                                                       S. Reeve

The leaves are oddly-pinnate and occur in groups of five to thirteen. The leaflets, and compound leaves are always arranged oppositely. The seeds occur in two rows in long capsules and they each have two wings that help them disperse in the wind. Even though this plant can climb like a vine it does not have tendrils. It can be remarkably drought tolerant but likes regular water. It is hardy to 20-25 degrees. It can freeze and come back from the roots. Mulch well if you live in an area that freezes. This plant is very invasive in the right circumstances and has escaped cultivation in many areas around the world, so research this aspect if you are interested in planting it. By putting this aggressive spreader in a pot I turned this into a carefree plant that the hummingbirds and I can both enjoy.

All Summer Bloomer for the Bees and Hummingbirds

Leucophyllum langmaniae 'Lynn's Legacy'                                                                                             S. Reeve

I love California native plants, but not so much in the summer when they are semi-dormant. One way to have some summer beauty is to choose plants that look like they are native to mix with natives. One such plant is Leucophyllum langmaniae 'Lynn's Legacy'. While not native to California, it hails from Mexico, so kind of close? I have known about this remarkable plant for quite some time but have never seen it for sale. It blooms heavily all summer especially if it is watered once in awhile. Once one flush of blooms finishes it just prepares a new set of buds to bloom again. The blooms least several days.

This particular selection was made by plantsman Lynn Lowery of Texas in the mid-eighties. He discovered it growing among a stand of Leucophyllum langmaniae outside of Monterrey, Mexico. Lynn loved collecting and introducing new plants, especially natives, and had a keen eye for promising selections. His nursery was in Houston, TX. 'Lynn's Legacy' is a slower growing version of the regular Cenizo, and was chosen for its profusely flowering nature and its compact growth to 5 feet. This is such an easy plant that covers itself with flowers several times from late spring into fall. It requires so little to behave so beautifully. The growth is compact and dense and flowering is profuse and lovely. The specific epithet, "langmaniae" refers to Ida Kaplan Langman. She botanized in Mexico and wrote an impressive book in the mid-sixites on the plants she found there titled, "A Selected Guide to the Literature of the Flowering Plants of Mexico."

While I prefer the deeper pink flowers of the Leucophyllum frutescens, the compact growth habit and grayer foliage of this plant make a better landscape plant for the typical homeowner. Here are Leucophyllum langmaniae 'Lynn's Legacy' in the foreground and Leucophyllum frutescens in the background. Notice the different flower colors. The soft gray foliage and rounded habit make this plant attractive even when it is not flowering which isn't very often!

Leucophyllum langmaniae 'Lynn's Legacy'                                                                 Photo by Dr. Jerry Parsons

Another advantage to this particular plant is it is not as dependent on humidity and rainfall to spur bloom formation as Leucophyllum frutescens. As long as you remember to water it occasionally, maybe once every 10 days or so, it will continue to bloom. I love this plant as it is positively bodacious! It is a doer and thriver. Once I planted a couple of Leucophyllums and basically forgot about them as they got swallowed by an Encelia californica only to find them in the mid-summer as the Encelia died back. I had hardly watered them and they still looked great. This is almost a "plant-it-and-forget-about-it plant" at least where I live. 

Leuocophyllum langmaniae 'Lynn's Legacy'                                                                                  S. Reeve

Now of course because gas-powered hedge clippers exist there will always be those that desire the plant to look like a cube or hockey puck, but please don't do this to this plant. Its fine rounded and well-behaved growth habit does not need assistance to look its best.

Plant torture                                                                                                   photo by David Cristiani

Leuocophyllum langmaniae does best in well-drained sandy soil and grows best when provided heat and full sun. As I mentioned before this plant flowers almost continuously regardless of rising humidity, irrigation or precipitation. Irrigation in the dry months of summer can encourage more profuse blooming of the lavender flowers. Bees and butterflies love this plant. Why I love summer-blooming bee plants is they supply late season bees with the pollen and nectar they need to produce offspring. Summer bloomers make all of the difference between success and survival of native bees for subsequent years. One summer we had uncharacteristic heavier rains and they allowed, a previously uncommon bumblebee to prosper. Here is a shot of gorgeous Bombus pensylvanicus ssp. sonorus visiting Leucophyllum frutescens. 

     Bombus pensylvanicus ssp. sonorus                                                                                             S. Reeve

Honeybees also love this plant as do hummingbirds. In the summer I have four species of hummingbirds in my garden and they appreciate the all-summer feeding station that his plant becomes. The sympetalous zygomorphic (fused petals, bilaterally symmetrical) five-lobed flowers occur in pairs at most congested internodes, so doing the math, that is a lot of flowers! The leaves are furry, gray, and spatulate. The silver hairs on the leaves are stellate and each individual hair is shaped like a sparkler. The flowers are also covered in minute hairs. Nectaries with sweet nectar draw the wildlife plus ample pollen makes this a valuable plant especially for bees. It supplies nectar for the adults and pollen to store for the larvae. Check out the nectar guides in this close-up. They act as runway lights for incoming bees. Because I plant this for the bees, I make sure when I buy it that it has not been treated with neonicotinoid pesticides as I do not want to harm the bees that visit. In Texas, Mexico, and Arizona this plant is the host plant for Theona Checkerspot butterfly and the large gorgeous Calleta Silk Moth. 

    Tomentose leaves, furry flowers, and spatulate leaves                                                                          S. Reeve

Another reason I prefer the habit and flower power of 'Lynn's Legacy' is flowers up and down the stems in doubles while Leucophyllum frutescens tends to flower only singly at the ends of branches. Leucophyllum langmaniae prefers dry alkaline, rocky or sandy soil, that is well-drained. Summer heat and occasional watering will keep this plant blooming for months well into fall. It is hardy down to 5 degrees F. Once again, drainage is more of an issue than cold hardiness as this plant will more likely succumb to bad drainage in the winter than from cold. If this compact grower needs pruning do this while it is dormant in the winter. This truly one of my favorite plants for wildlife and I almost feel like I am cheating when I grow this because it is so easy.