A fast, twining vine native to Sonora and Baja California, Mexico, with heart-shaped leaves and long sprays of bright pink flowers from summer into fall. It loves heat, draws bees and butterflies, and comes back each spring after dying back in winter.
Living with it in the Phoenix Valley
Watering
Follow the shrub schedule in our Landscape Care guide through the warm season. It needs much less water in winter, when the top has died back.
Pruning
Once frost has browned the stems, cut them back near the ground. New growth returns quickly as the weather warms in spring.
Cold
Light frost kills the top growth, which is normal. The roots survive a typical Phoenix winter.
Heat
Summer heat is when it shines. Growth and bloom peak through the hottest months into fall.
How our designers use it
Summer shade on a ramada
It quickly covers a pergola or ramada for summer shade, then lets winter sun through after it dies back.
Fences and trellises
Our designers use it to bring a mass of pink to a fence line or trellis in late summer, when few other plants are blooming.
Pollinator gardens
Its flowers are a strong draw for bees and butterflies alongside other Sonoran plants.
Good to know
Around the pool
Its flowers draw bees, and it drops leaves and spent flowers seasonally. We generally keep it away from the pool edge and seating.
Bare in winter
Expect a few months of bare or cut-back stems. Pair it with evergreen plants so the area doesn’t look empty in winter.
