Vines and Climbers: Aristolochia triangularis, 1 by ErickMN

ErickMN wrote:
Hello Gourd.

Yes, this one - A. triangularis - took nearly two years to bloom from seed for me. But that's just my experience...I suspect it would bloom quicker in warmer climates. I've essentially treated mine as a houseplant during the winter when light is low here. That doesn't seem to bother it a bit. A real bonus is that it's not bothered by spider mites at all (in my experience anyways).

I encourage your Aristolochia addiction! They are a great vine genus to grow, on the same level of coolness as Passifloras and a few others. Congrats on your A. gigantea flowers! I started one from seed about a year ago, and it finally bloomed this past week...it is OBVIOUSLY A. elegans....The latter is a great Aristolochia, easy bloomer, but i was hoping to add A. gigantea to my collection.

As I am zone 4B here, only a few Aristolochias will overwinter outdoors in my gardens. I've found four so far....A. serpentaria, A. clematatis, A. tomentosa and A. macrophylla. Otherwise, I grow another couple dozen species that i move outdoors in the spring and bring indoors in the fall. I would think that you, in zone 7B, might have a shot at growing a number of tropical and semi-tropical Aristolochias in the ground year round with protection. Please try!

Regards,

Erick

This message was edited Oct 22, 2007 9:23 PM