Eccremocarpus Scaber

Closeup of Eccremocarpus scaber growing up Trachycarpus trunk

Eccremocarpus growing up Trachycarpus trunk

Hummingbird resting near Eccremocarpus vine

     One of my favorite vines is Eccremocarpus scaber, also known as the Chilean glory flower or the Chilean glory vine.  I have been growing this vine in my garden for 15 or 20 years and I love it for the bright red-orange flowers that the hummingbirds love.  This vine is probably the number one hummingbird magnet in my garden and because it blooms for so long, it has been feeding them since early spring and probably will continue to do so well into late fall.
     Although this vine is called a perennial vine, it seems to come and go in the garden.  Some years it lives over the winter and is practically evergreen.  Other years it dies back in the winter and some years it dies completely over the winter.  Never fear if this happens, however, because it sets prolific amounts of seed and will self sow, usually near the parent.   These self sown seedlings can be moved when they are small and placed where you want them.
     In the first two pictures above I placed a couple of these seedlings near the trunk of a Trachycarpus which for some unknown reason had died.  Since to take out the trunk would have been a major operation, I thought I would use it as the scaffolding for vines and what better vine than Eccremocarpus?  The hairiness of these palm trunks makes a good thing for vines like this to grab hold of.  In fact, these trunks are good to train vines on even if the palm has not died!
     This vine comes in a couple of other colored flower versions.  There is a light pink flower, which I got once from Annies Annuals, but I thought the color was too insipid.  I think there is also a yellowish version, but I have not tried that one.  I like the bright orange red one so well, and the hummingbirds do too,  that I am not going to try any other colors.