Hello All.
I thought I would share a pic of my first ever Aristolochia triangularis flower. It's very small - not much more than 1/2" - but very cool (in my opinion). I started the plant from seed about two years ago.
Note the fly checking the flower out!
Erick
That is pretty cool, Erick. Congrats!!
Thank you Lily!
Erick
yeah Erick!!!!!!!! That is just beautiful
Too funny. I looked at the picture and thought, "Ooooooooo, very cool!" And then I read your post. :) I want it...
Jenny
I like them LSU colors Erick!
Mark
Wow that is very cool Erick!!
Thank you all. I appreciate your kind comments.
Liz, it is actually a well behaved little vine with bright green leaves. It does great on a small trellis.
Erick
Oh my lord, I saw your other photo,, great flower.. two years from seed? Oh, i have some seedlings for elegance and i have a long wait.. The plants I do have gigantea (One bloomed and has had 4 flowers open). I ordered a serpentia and a couple of others. I feel a nice addiction coming on..lol. I'm looking for cold hardy types also for my area so that I don't have to bring them inside. Do you have any indoors?
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
oh wow, which one is that one you just posted? Where can I purchase some cold hardy species types? I'm in a 7/8 zone. I have 6 plants inside now, and several seedlings. They look great and are doing just fine sitting by the windows. I ordered two from Georgiavines and right at the moment, I don't remember which ones I ordered, so I have to go look. And I ordered the serpentaria also.
The flowers have fallen off and I don't see anything that looks like a seedpod, so, maybe I didn't have a pollinator. I think maybe I'll try and plant one in the ground to see how it does, they were doing fine outside, but I was not sure whether to leave them out there.. maybe next year. This is my first year with them and dont' want to lose them. Hoping to get a butterfly garden going. Now, I just need to learn how to root them from cuttings. Next year I'll start early to try and airlayer them. I'm hoping to get grandiflora too.. tis just the beginning...
This is a little confusing for me, on some of the google searches that I've done, it appears that the elegance, littoralis & gigantea are the same...
edited to add: I found my order (esperenza and gilbertii)
This message was edited Oct 22, 2007 10:27 PM
Gourd,
The last flower I last posted is Aristolochia macroura. I find it to very easy to grow, and the flowers are large and striking. I tend to pick up my Aristolochia plants and seeds from a wide variety of places, e.g. eBay, trades with other growers, nurseries, etc. Sometimes while researching them on-line I just stumble across a new seed source. Once you get a little collection, you are in a better position to trade with others and build your collection.
If you have a seed pod, it will become very noticable soon. It's actually rather unusual for me to get seed pods on my plants, with the exception of A. fimbriata and A. elegans. As for leaving them outdoors, it's hard to say without knowing your low temps. I left most of my collection outdoors even when it got down to the mid-40's and it didn't bother them one bit. But a hard freeze would be fatal for sure, so I don't push it too far.
I've found most Aristolochias to be rather easy to root from cuttings. Just make sure to cover them with plastic to keep the humidity high (but let in fresh air every day) and don't let them dry out. Good luck! And A. grandilfora is a FABULOUS species, well worth picking up. I do find it a challenge to get throught the winter indoors, however.
I am not an expert by any means, but I believe A. elegans and A. littoralis to be the same plant. A. gigantea is definitely a totally separate species.
Make sure to post pictures!
Erick
This message was edited Oct 23, 2007 7:53 PM
Thanks Erick.
I have another couple of questions regarding the A.'s .. do you know if they will form tubers from cuttings? or only from seed grown plants? Also, do all A.'s form tubers or just some, and I should expect tubers on all? I think they are so neat.
Thanks.
A.
You are most welcome Gourd. It's fun to share what little knowledge I have!
You ask great questions about Aristolochia roots/tubers. Unfortunately, I can't really answer them. I grow all of mine in pots and try to transplant them as little as possible, so I rarely get to see the roots that closely. But from what I've seen when I do, and from observations above the soil line, most of my Aristolochias seem to develop a woody base like other perennial vines and have a standard root structure w/o tubers. One notable exception are my A. frimbriatas, which clearly have tubers.
That said, I can't imagine that the origination of a particular plant - seed vs. cutting - would have any impact on whether it grows tubers or not. The species either always grows tubers (with age), or it doesn't. But I am not an expert, so take my comments with that understanding please.
Erick
Thanks!!!
A.
