Habitat

• cross between L. sempervirens and L. americana
• hardy to zone 5, and warmer parts of 4

Habit and Form

• deciduous climbing vine
• twining
• size is variable (depending on structure)
• medium texture
• fast growth rate

Summer Foliage

• deciduous simple leaves
• opposite leaf arrangement
• oblong leaf shape
• 1" to 2.5" long
• 0.66' to 1.66" wide
• glabrous
• dark green leaf color
• new leaves are fused at base

Autumn Foliage

• leaves turn yellowish and fall off
• not ornamentally important

Flowers

• flower buds are pink and open to show a yellow center
• fragrant
• flowers are held in spikes
• cover plant
• showy

Fruit

• red fruit
• plant does not fruit readily
• not ornamentally important

Bark

• reddish stems
• glabrous
• thin

Culture

• easy to grow
• full sun to partial shade
• tolerant of difficult growing sites
• adaptable to most soils

Landscape Use

• specimen
• trellis
• arbor
• for flowering effect

Liabilities

• powdery mildew
• can be rampant

ID Features

• twining deciduous vine
• new leaves fused at base
• opposite leaf arrangement
• pink flower buds opening to show a yellow corolla
• flowers are fragrant
• red fruit

Propagation

• by cuttings

Cultivars/Varieties

'Gold Flame' (perhaps the same as 'Mardis Gras', 'Pink Lemonade' and 'Summer King') - This selection of the hybrid features deeper red-purple flowers than the species.