This gorgeous ‘creation’ is a living tree sculpture: An aged Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicans) enveloping the upper half of an old tree snag and assuming a shape reminiscent of the bonsai “Broom Style” (or hokidachi).
In this style, the trunk is straight and upright, and the plant branches out in all directions at about 1/3 the height of the tree to form a ball-shaped crown. [The last photo shows a hokidachi-style Zelkova bonsai.]
An eastern United States native, Campsis radicans is a woody vine that attaches to structures by aerial rootlets. It can grow 2 feet a week and reach 40 feet high. Once mature after 5 or 6 years, its terminal clusters of red trumpet-shaped flowers are very attractive to hummingbirds throughout the summer.
