Cardinal Climber vine in the backyard to attract hummingbirds and butterflies

This is an update on our annual Cardinal Climber vine that is now nicely flowering in the middle of September. The red trumpet flowers are timed so nicely for #Hummingbird #migration. The Cardinal Climber vine (Ipomoea x multifida) is a hybrid cross between the cypress vine (Ipomoea quamoclit) and the red morning glory (Ipomoea coccinea). We purchased a packet of seeds years ago, and now just harvest seeds each year for our next year's planting.
We live in the Houston Gulf Coast area in zone 9a and directly plant Cardinal Climber seed in late March to very early April. If you live in more northern areas, I recommend starting the seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before your final frost. We have success with soaking the seeds in warm water for 24 hours before we directly plant into the ground. If you soak your seeds they will germinate faster. The vines take around 12-14 weeks to start blooming, so time this for your particular area.
This vine is truly an annual and will die at the first frost. The seeds do not survive outdoors in freezing temperatures, so be sure to bring the seeds in for the winter if you want to plant again in the springtime.
It is also good to note that the Cardinal Climber seed is true to the seed, meaning it will not revert to either parent when planted. At least we have never had that happen with our seed.

[@rosanagarcia850]

I love this plant with these little flowers!!! Thank you so much for sharing this beauty of nature!!!😍

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thanks for visiting! I have cardinal climber in my yard each year, and I really like that it is easy to grow from seed. 😊

[@thatgardeninggirl2864]

Just ordered some seeds. Haven't grown it in many years. Yours is absolutely beautiful and yes the hummingbirds ❤ it!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you! Yes, we love to grow it each year particularly for the hummingbirds. But butterflies also visit the flowers, so that is "win-win"! 😊

[@chelsea4517]

Absolutely beautiful

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you! 😊

[@Shananana99]

What a great idea with the fence. I will be doing this exactly with my seeds. So pretty

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

We love having cardinal climber on the fence. It is so nice to get vines this nice every year from seed.

[@Shananana99]

@@ButterfliesNBirds I’m curious what size are the containers you have the plants in ? Thanks 😊

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Those actually aren't containers ... we used plastic garden edging and put it into squares. (The segments easily made the square shape). We tamped them into the ground slightly and then filled the square with soil. We did this to protect the vines from getting weed-wacked. It works like a champ. We do this every year now. 😁

[@radiomileva7310]

​@@ButterfliesNBirdsBlago Vama prelepo. Kako bi se mogle poslati semenke za Srbiju. Hvala i pozdrav ❤❤❤

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Do you currently order seeds from the U.S.? If you do, you should be able to find cardinal climber seeds.

[@TheSkydiva67]

Yours is gorgeous! I have a small one in a pot. The leaves are beautiful as well. I want to get more seeds!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I just love mine this year too! Last year in our 100+ degree temperatures and drought my cardinal climber struggled. But this year they are looking fantastic. We plant quite a few seeds each year so we get large vines that are thick. I haven't grown them in a container yet, but have thought about it. 😊

[@caranwysong3065]

I can't wait to plant seeds this year! I hope I can find them!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I hope so too!

[@paytonkane2501]

Really happy to see this! Planting this in San Antonio for the first time and the seeds shot up so quickly!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Fantastic! This vine won't disappoint you. Here in the Houston area there isn't anything that attacks it either, which is a bonus. Being tropical though, it does need regular water. I have it on drip irrigation so it will grow nicely and flower right during the hummingbird migration. And since you are in San Antonio - you have a lot of hummingbird activity during migration! Give it sun and water and watch it grow. We have just planted ours this week.

[@timothyreyes2365]

How did they do? Just planted mine today

[@TexasBroskiActual]

I bought some of these seeds on eBay! Planted them last week, and they sprouted in 3 days! Looking forward to some beautiful blooms like yours.

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Excellent! They like full sun and water. Cardinal Climber also does well in the Texas heat and humidity around Houston. We seem to have an early spring this year, so I will be planting our Cardinal Climber soon.

[@davettayoung1495]

Absolutely beautiful 🌺🌺 I just ordered these seeds

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Excellent! I hope you enjoy this vine. It likes full sun and water.

[@davettayoung1495]

@@ButterfliesNBirds I noticed you had these planted in pots outside. Do you water them everyday? I’m so excited!🌺

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I'm excited for you too! I have all of our cardinal climber planted in the ground, but you can also plant them in containers. I have two octagon slightly raised small beds that I plant in for our trellises.

[@jennetteojeda5792]

💖👍🏻💖

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

This is such a nice vine from seed.

[@FamilyOfficial245]

Subhan Allah, wow, i love gardining and flowers i saw in this video. i love you and i love your efforts. you give plenty of time to plants and vines and resultantly the Almighty God bless you inshape of the best gift of flowers like this. God Bless you dear

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Thank you so much! I find gardening for butterflies and hummingbirds very rewarding 🦋🐛🌺

[@FamilyOfficial245]

@@ButterfliesNBirds God Bless you

[@dorothyv2863]

how tall is that trellis structure, and where did you get it. Is it one trellis or many, and how many plants are on this? I'm actually going to plant this vine for the first time & I love the way you have it. Thank you, great job you did!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

The trellis is about 6.5 feet tall and they are 5 individual trellises that I purchased at Home Depot. I don't really remember how many seeds we planted, but I think it was like a total of 40-ish seeds for that structure. I'm pretty sure almost all germinated as we presoak the seeds. Good luck with your Cardinal climber! I plant it every year (because it is an annual). 😊

[@dorothyv2863]

Thank you so much, do you plant them in the front or back of the arch, and are they in pots or in the ground. Its beautiful. @@ButterfliesNBirds

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I plant them in front of the trellises and plant them in the ground in a slightly raised bed. When they start to grow, we train them to grow up the trellis by guiding them there or when they are long enough start to wrap them on the trellis.

[@dorothyv2863]

Thank you again!

[@nannykat1057]

Good to know there is another blooming vine I can grow here instead of this crazy (but stunningly beautiful) coral vine that is toooo invasive /aggressive. And... it's a perennial...dropping seeds in the fall and forming tubers like crazy!! Yikes!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Cardinal Climber is a great annual tropical vine that brings in the hummingbirds during the Texas fall hummingbird migration. It is an aggressive grower and you need to put it on a trellis, fence, or a support structure. It will grow until the first frost. It is also important to know that it will drop seeds and sprout new plants. This isn't a problem for us because the sprouts just get mowed each week. Once frost comes the plants and seeds die. The seeds do not last outside through the winter. If you want to save some seeds for spring planting be sure to bring them inside.

[@nannykat1057]

@@ButterfliesNBirds Thank you!

[@EddyFeyen]

I wanted to ask the things you already have in description like how long it takes as i live in zone 6b so have to count back from half may to know when to sow. I see 4-6 weeks what was the germination temp at that moment in your garden ?

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Hello! If you plant directly outside you want to wait until your ground warms up. It is a tropical plant and easy to grow, but it does like warmth. Definitely soak your seed for 24 hours before you plant (whether you plant directly outside or if you start them inside). Once you soak the seed they usually sprout in 3 days after planting. If you don't soak the seed, it can take 1-2 weeks to germinate.

[@kimhiner7883]

Those are gorgeous! How many seeds do you have to plant to grow them so thick. I have a small pot of them growing now less than a foot tall. I'm in East Tx 8B

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Hello! You are in an excellent area for them to thrive. We plant ours in the landscape and have found with our heat, humidity, clay soil, and rain amounts they really thrive, grow, and flower abundantly. I'm sure they will grow well in a pot for you, but we haven't done that before so I don't know what the performance will be like. We have found that one plant can really take up a lot of vertical space and the stalk gets very thick if it doesn't have to compete with another cardinal climber. We have grown them as a single seed, but usually plant multiple seeds in a larger area. In our large 5 section trellis this year we planted 20 seeds total.

[@vanschermerhorn7167]

Is this vine like morning glory , you have to take down the dead vine every year and reseed ? Looks great

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Yes, this vine is a hybrid and one of the parents is a red morning glory. You do have to take down the dead vine every year and reseed. If you live in an area that freezes, the seeds will not survive the freezing temperatures outside. If you collect the seeds for reseeding, they do need to be brought inside.

[@spicyritas4795]

Do you think I could grow it in a hanging pot?

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Seeds are fairly inexpensive so I say give it a try. For me it is a climber as opposed to a trailer, but who knows?

[@vanschermerhorn7167]

Do you have to deadhead and does this die back every year ? May have to get it , appreciate your reply . thank you

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

No, there is no deadheading. The flower lasts one day and then sloughs off the vine. For our location in full sun this vine flowers abundantly for over 2 months during hummingbird migration. Also, larger butterflies like the Monarch and Sulfur like the nectar in the red flower.

[@puggirl63]

How many did you plant

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

That year we planted about 13 seeds on each side. (We have 2 small octagon shaped raised beds under the trellis we planted them in).

[@vijayalakshmikurmachalam3666]

Buetiful, what's the name of this creeper ,where I get this,pls,

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

This is called a Cardinal Climber and you grow it from seed (It is an annual vine).

[@vanschermerhorn7167]

Thank you for your reply . How do you collect the seeds ?

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

If you don't mind watching a short video, I did one on collecting the seeds: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oH-upIifmpV2r7c They are easy to collect - and you get a lot of seeds. Pick them once they are completely dried on the vine.

[@karenschrantz2307]

When does it bloom? how long? Thank you!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

I don't know why exactly, but ours is blooming sparsely right now and we only direct seeded it outdoors in mid-March. But, the big bloom time for us is mid to late August through November.

[@RohitSingh-id8zt]

We won’t get hummingbirds on cypress wine ??

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Hi! Our Cardinal climber (which is a hybrid from a red morning glory and a cypress vine) very much attracts hummingbirds. In fact it is one of their favorite flowers.

[@nannykat1057]

Where did you purchase your seeds for the Cardinal Climber? Thank you!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

My husband purchased a packet in 2014 from Walmart, Home Depot, or Lowe's - he doesn't remember which one. We just now harvest seeds each year from our plants. This vine is so easy to grow in our area from seed each year. It is a tropical vine, so it does need water. This summer was tough in the Houston area because we went a long time without rain, so I made sure to regularly water.

[@nannykat1057]

@@ButterfliesNBirds And.....still no rain. I have to budget my water bill, soooo my plants are struggling.... even my salvias! Yikes!!

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

@@nannykat1057 This has definitely been a very dry year. We received some rain here at the end of August, but that has been it. I lost 3 pentas which is unusual. I know what you mean - when salvias struggle, we know it has been dry. 🙁

[@nannykat1057]

@@ButterfliesNBirds I forgot to mention Esperanza bush. All the plants I mentioned in my previous post have actually flourished in this drought.... I very rarely water them, if at all. I also grow only antique roses and drift roses.... both still blooming & doing great.

[@nannykat1057]

Welllll...my list of drought-hardy plants must be on another of your videos... LOL

[@NoBsGranny]

How many do you plant per foot

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

We have planted sparsely and densely, and prefer when we plant them more densely. Like eight or more seeds per foot.

[@NoBsGranny]

Thank you so much

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

@@NoBsGranny You're welcome 😊

[@sahar1usa]

Are they deer resistant?

[@ButterfliesNBirds]

Cardinal Climber is deer resistant. I don't live in an area with deer, so I haven't been able to test that claim though.