PlantFiles: Dutchman's Pipe
Aristolochia gigantea

I have just learned that the a. gigantea is a death sentence for the Pipevine Swallowtail. Several of my friends on the Hummingbird and Butterfly forum that raise caterpillars like myself; say the cats the eat from that plant die. The female butterfly will still lay her eggs on it but after hatching and beginning to eat, the larva don't make it.
I only planted it as a butterfly host plant, so bye bye gigantea!

I planted this plant 3 years ago,got it by accident,but I like it the massive flowers,, always become a topic of conversion.It can be invassive,its a very fast grower,but this is kind of a good thing since catapillers seem to be able to devower it very quickly,it grows back just in time for the next set of butterflies and their larva.the flowers scent is mild and pleasant, but cut the stem or crush the leaves and it produces a pungent not so desirable smell.It has done well in drout and heavy rainy seasons, I would recommend this plant if you have the space and your zone and climate is close to my here in Orlando

This plant grows very well at the Jacksonville (Florida) Zoo and Gardens in two places in the "Range of the Jaguar" exhibit. It is always a conversation starter with its strange dark brown flowers. It is in a somewhat protected outdoor location, but did survive temperatures last winter of around 28 F on a few nights. I'm hoping to get some cuttings rotted soon.

Jeremy

Although, I enjoy these vines and its exotic blooms. The scent is a bit pungent. This I believe is emits by injured leaves and vine, not from the flower itself. It's a great conversational piece. However, I found they're not hardy here in my zone.

This plant is so easy! It gets huge, the pipevine swallowtails love it for larval food and it flowers almost year round. The foliage stinks if crushed, but the flowers smell like lemons.
It survived a brief freeze a couple of years ago. It lost its leaves, but quickly recovered.

This has turned into one of my handful of die hard favorites. Fast growing, tolerant of neglectful watering and/or lackadaisical care, deeply appreciative of any extra fuss by blooming more prolifically. It's so beautiful, and I'm continually delighted by the fresh lemon scent wafting from those outrageously bizarre looking blooms!

It's been a rough summer here in South Florida zone 10, hot hot hot and dry. Some of my plants have fried to a crisp, even in shade. Sigh. But this plant is thriving in full morning sun and partial afternoon shade. It loves the heat and humidity. I can't recommend it enough to my friends, though it seems that online is the only way to find it.

You have to get used to sharing it with caterpillars. It's particularly distressing when they munch on the flowerbuds but it's a terrific bloomer and there will always be enough to share.

I bought a small cutting start of this at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden plant sale this spring and planted it near my woodpile in the Catskills expecting a spectacular show. Despite the record heat this summer, it has not produced a single new leaf--although none of the others look stressed. Guess its just too cold. I am thinking of potting it up and bringing it inside.

A. gigantea is easy to grow and a vigourous vine sometimes becoming invasive. It can be grown from seed or from cutting. I have done OK at both although I am not a great horticulturist. It is most important with the cuttings to grow them in a warm environment to have success and most people say that they are hard to propogate from cutting (not *my* experience but that is the word on the street).

In my opinion, some of the images here are not in the correct category. You will see above that some flowers are large and somewhat droopy and not as deeply coloured and others are smaller, darker, and more structurally sound. The larger droopier ones have a distinct lemony smell that is noticable a *small* distance from the plant when it is in bloom and - in my opinion - it is A. brasiliensis (sometimes called A. gigantea 'Brasiliensis' although it is an entirely different species). The smaller darker ones do have a lemony fragrance the first day that they are open but you hafta have a *really* good nose and get right up into the flower to detect it. It never has a foul odour as some report but some of the other members of this genus which are similiar looking *do* have a foul odour.

A. gigantea can be very invasive so avoid planting it where it may escape and cause harm to native species. It is a preferred host plant for some type of butterfly (I dunno what kind - butterflies are my thing...). I have one growing in my yard and people really thing it is weird and seem to like it (they keep stealing cuttings so I am taking taht as a COMPLIMENT!).

Hope this is helpful.

-ellie

I said my experience is positive, but actually I have just planted mine. I do know people who grow it successfully both in Conroe and Tomball, and I saw it last week grown quite successfully in a butterfly garden in Austin (The Natural Gardener.) It is the larval food of the Pipe-vine Swallowtail, one of the main reasons I am now growing it. In the butterfly garden in Austin, they were growing this vine as a ground-cover, which is what I am doing (no room for another trellis.)

I planted it from seed (the seeds have a great germination ration, it seems), and I have now a 6 years old vine growing in the porch of my apartment. I can´t take care of it where I live. It doesn´t have room to grow, and the light is inadequate, so it never bloomed. But I´m confident that it will make it as soon as we move to a house, with an actual yard.

The only place I know this is cultivated here in Rio de Janeiro is the Botanical Garden. I hear people complaining about its smell, but honestly, I never sensed any smell from it. This plant should get more attention.

I have had great success growing my Gigantea in a pot. It twined up over my kitchen window. Bloomed until late Fall. Here it is Feb and it is still green. Very rewarding.