Podranea ricasoliana Comtesse Sarah

The 'Comtesse Sarah' Pink Trumpet Vine is a rarely cultivated form of Podranea ricasoliana that differs primarily in its much earlier flowering, flowers of a more uniform pink colour and slightly smaller size, as well as lower hardiness. This old variety, whose origins are obscure, is capable of blooming as early as the beginning of summer, while its famous relative waits until the end of September to open its clusters of trumpet-shaped pink flowers. This large sarmentous shrub has quite astonishing ornamental value in mild climates and is not demanding in terms of soil or water once established. However, it requires warmth and sunlight to bloom well. It is an excellent vine for a Mediterranean garden. Elsewhere, it can be easily grown in a large container and stored during the winter.

The pink trumpet vine or Ricasoli Trumpet Vine, sometimes called orchid vine, is another species in the Bignonia family native to South Africa and Zimbabwe. 'Comtesse Sarah' is a bush with woody stump and strong sarmentous branches without a climbing system, so it will need to be trained. It grows rapidly and can reach 7 to 9 metres (23 to 29 feet) in all directions under favourable conditions, but will not exceed 3 to 4 metres (10 to 13 feet) in a pot. Annual growth is around 2 metres (7 feet) in fertile soil. The aboveground vegetation is destroyed at -3°C (26.6°F), which is why the foliage is usually deciduous in our climates. The flowering period is remarkably long. It generally starts at the end of June or beginning of July and lasts until October if the weather remains mild. The flowers bloom at the ends of the current year's shoots, grouped in ramified clusters. They have widely flared trumpet-shaped flowers, 5 cm (2in) long and 4 cm (2in) wide. Each flower consists of a tube widening into 5 rounded and undulate lobes. Their colour is a pale lilac-pink, marked with yellow and slightly striped with pink in the throat. This slightly fragrant flowering is nectar-rich and attracts bees and bumblebees. The foliage consists of 11 leaflets, fairly light green, glossy, finely toothed at the edges. If temperatures reach -5 to -6°C (23 to 21.2°F), all aboveground parts of the plant are destroyed. However, it will regrow from the stump in spring, albeit quite late.

The 'Comtesse Sarah' Pink Trumpet Vine can be used in various ways in a mild climate garden, to cover a pergola, a sparsely leaved tree in autumn, a wall sheltered from cold winds, an unsightly building, or a south-facing façade. This exotic and lush plant must be protected during the first years of cultivation. That is its only requirement, and perhaps its only weakness, as it can thrive in any deep and properly prepared soil, even limestone and relatively dry soils in summer, without hindering its joyful flowering. To accompany its blooming, consider, for example, the beautiful Clematis Prince Charles.