Mary, I don't cut mine back. The new growth usually is on the ends. Mine is blooming with lots of pipes. This is the 4th year for the vine. It is also suckering.

sandy

Mary, I don't cut my vines back when they're young. When they get older and get big, I'll cut them back in early spring, if the pipevine swallowtails didn't already do it for me the previous fall.
I've got TONS of new growth with lots of pipes, too, Sandy, just no red eggs. :(
Sherry

One of mine got run over by a lawn dude :( I'm hoping it will regenerate. My only other one is slowly climbing a fence. I was hoping for a little more "oomph" this year.

Lisa

Wow I never have ant left to cut back the goldrims eat mine to ground hehehehe They such pigs hehehehe
Angie

Mary, how is your A. variegata doing? Sandy and I were just talking about you the other day, and wondering about them.

Susan

Susan,

I currently have 9 A. variegata plants showing growth and the wild one has 5 stalks with buds already forming on the tips of four of the stalks. I had about 11 blooms on this more mature plant last season and didn't get one seed pod. No wonder this plant is so hard to find. It apparently does not set seed easily. I'm hoping for better luck this year.

I don't know how old the plants have to be before they set flower buds but I'm closely watching all of the younger ones for possible blooms. I'm planting Nepeta 'Walker's Low' this spring in the hopes of bringing in more pollinators.

Do you currently have growing A. variegata plants and if so, how are they doing this spring?

Mary

oops, I apologize for forgetting to mention all the helpful comments on my question about cutting back the pipevines.

My sincere thanks for taking the time to educate me. I will just leave the vines be and hope I have enough leaves to feed the little cats, providing I am favored by the pipevine mama's again this year.

Mary

Mary, I have one variegata left. A gopher got my other one. This one have about 4 stalks coming up. It bloomed last year. I am planning to try hand pollination this year. The process of natural pollination is very tricky requiring an insect to actually get its leg caught in the bloom and pull out the pollen. Then the little pollen kernel or whatever it is called must be inserted into another bloom. I did some research last year, and found a site that illustrates hand pollination. I just hope I have enough blooms. I'll try to locate the site again and post it.

sandy

From what I have read, this particular milkweed is one of the more difficult to pollinate, too. It seems other milkweeds do just fine.

I am so glad to hear yours are doing well, and Sandy's, too! Sorry for going off the topic, but I wanted to catch you while you were here and would be checking back in about the pipevines.

Susan

Aristolochia isn't a milkweed, but we'll forgive you. :)

I have found a couple of things out about my Aristolochia californica--

1-Feed with rabbit manure for whopping new growth.
2-If you don't want to get stung by yellowjackets eating the seedpods and seeds in fall, don't plant it by a gate or walkway.
3-If you did #2 anyway, strip the blooms when you see them or prune off the seedpods early.
4-I take mine back each fall/spring before new growth starts to keep it under control (having done #2 above) and to be able to open my gate. Then I let 'er rip and just trim the runners that are tying the gate shut. :)

Good luck, and I sure hope that the tomentosa isn't as attracive to wasps as californica!

I've had 2 plants of A.tormentosa for this being the 3rd year. The only cutting back I've done is to the dead sprigs after new growth is showing. I've never had blooms but am hoping to as my plants mature. I got both of mine from Mail Order Natives & they have done well here! The PVSTs seem to prefer A.fimbriata over them but will use them if the fimbriata is all eaten up!
I was having challenges last year with my tropical milkweed setting seed so I used a small water color brush with soft bristles & proceded to try to hand pollenate them & ended up with an abundance of seed pods!
As far as your A.variegata, I would love to get some seed for a trade if anyone ends up with some! I am wanting a few more varieties as well as more perennial milkweed plants!

A tomentosa takes about 3 years to get to the blooming stage. This is my 5th year, and I have blooms galore! I should get some seeds. These seeds are easy to germinate and grow. I currently have over 20 small plants that just germinated this spring. As I didn't have seed last year, I got this seed from Easywildflowers in Missouri. I have fantastic results with the seeds I get from John. He also sells potted plants.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aristolochia tomentosa seeds

Is there a secret to getting seeds, Sandy?
My vines have been full of pipes for years, but have never made a single seed pod - any way I can pollinate them by hand?
Sherry

I always wondered why I never had flowers mine they are 3 years old I use to think I just missed the blooms because they are small but so glad you posted they take 5 years never knew that.Only 2 more years hehehehe
Angie

Sherry, I think pollination is dicey as I have only had 2 seed pods form in the past. I have so many pipes, and they are very accessible this year, so I just figure the pollinators will find them. Some years the pipes are buried way inside the vine. Maybe I should take a small paint brush out and see if I can get it down the little throats. I'll try that and see what happens.

Also, think I'll google pollinating pipevines.

sandy

Sherry,

I did a google search--seems that flies pollinate the pipevines. They go down in the neck of the flowers and get trapped on the hairs. The hairs then shrink and release the fly with its load of pollen. I haven't seen too many flies around so far this year. So, I think I'll try a toothpick, and a tiny paint brush.

sandy

Hmmmm...I assume you'd move the pollen from one flower to another. I've got a tiny little cosmetic brush I've never used and some toothpicks. I think I'll take them out to the pipevines now and play around with it.
Sherry

Sherry,
How did you do? I ended up using one of the pipevine stems--broke it off as it fit perfectly in the pipes, and had little hairs on it. I stuck it in four different flowers and moved it around--it was dark colored when it came out. Hope something happened.

I have a bunch of flowers that haven't opened yet, so will keep attempting to pollinate these as they are ready.

Sandy

Hmm. I should have gotten some of that pipevine plant already. I've got forty-something PVST cats already and there is NO way I can feed them all. I have mostly A. fimbriata and the potted ones all died last winter, leaving only the ones in the ground alive. Then I have a couple A. serpentaria...but not a whole lot of foliage on anything! Those cats are SUCH voracious eaters!

Sandy, I went outside with instruments in hand, and there were no pipes left on the vines! I guess they're all bloomed out. They usually repeat bloom a little in the fall, so I'll be watching.
Sherry

Please let us know if you get any seed pods, Sandy.
Sherry

Sherry,

I bought some pipe cleaners today to use. I'll let you know if it takes. Guess I'll go out and just clean out those little pipes!! And then see if I can spread the pollen around.

Sorry to hear your pipes are already gone. You are quite a bit ahead of us. Saw a Variegated frit cruisin' the yard today. I've got passi sprouts.

sandy

I went out and looked at mine and there are little pipes in many places on the oldest vine. Something must be pollinating mine because they keep popping up all around. I was able to take some cuttings a few year ago and perhaps one out of six or seven made it. So, cuttings are possible...

No pipevine butterflies here yet. Just a few Goldrims (Polydamas).

I think the tomentosas like a freeze. Mine seem to come back stronger after there have been a few freezing days.

Tom, the little guys that are popping up are from the parent plant. Pipevine is a sucker plant, like passionvine, and sends out long runners. Not too many flowers get pollinated. The seed capsules are about 2 inches long and about an inch in diameter and barrel shaped. They form at the junction with the vine just above the pipe. I have only seen two seed capsules--one on a wild vine, and one that formed on one of the vines in my yard. They are packed with lots and lots of seeds.