aristolochia plants from seeds

i know some of you will have experience with these seeds. are they hard to germinate? how long usually? do temps need to be constant? how long does it take the plant to get to blooming size from seeds? and finally there are so many different kinds. which is best for zone 8a. oh and one more thing.........has anybody ever grown the red one? what zone is it hardy to? thanks for any information. barbara allison

Some varieties of aristolochia are easier to germinate than others.If the seeds are fresh, they germinate much faster. Some varieties will bloom in one year, some take two years.
If by the red one you mean Aristolochia gigantea, the seeds are harder to germinate and take up to two years to flower from seed. It has survived 26* for a few hours in my garden but not sure if it can survive a hard freeze.

no susie it is called labiata or some such. and it has a definite reddish tint to the flower, more brownish red. have you seen it? and do you surface sow the seeds? is it easy to root cuttings from this plant? and the smell........can you smell it from a long way?

I think Aristolochia labiata is another name for A. Braziliensis. The names have been changed so much in that genus, I have trouble keeping up. If it is that one, then it will be very similar to A. gigantea.
The lemony scent is only noticable up close, if you stick your nose into the flower. The weird smell the vines have when bruised is noticable from several feet away.

so the flowers smell like lemons? from what i was reading i got the impression that this thing smelled really bad. do you know who has this vine for sale? and is it a 10.00 vine?

Mine hasn't flowered yet, I just got it last year. I've heard different things about the flowers, that they smell like lemons and that they smell like rotted meat but I don't have first hand experience with these flowers.
Do a Google search for plants. To find plants for sale I put in the botanical name of the plant + plant + buy(or "add to cart") and it will bring up sites with plants for sale. If you want seeds, put in "+ seeds" in place of "plant" and it will find sites with seeds. Here is how I would search for your plant Aristolochia labiata + plant + buy and here is a link with the plant for sale http://yuccado.com/displayone.php?ytitle=Aristolochia%20labiata and it is $15
Kartuz had it, but they are out.

Forgot to add Zone 9 Tropicals http://www.zone9tropicals.com/index.php?cPath=23&osCsid=d267ca6ed41d678eeb1e85ff1f2e09d3 has it for $11.99. I've bought from them, their plants were very nice, healthy and well packed.