Propagation notes, Explorers Garden - Hinkley: fruits of the pipevine remain extremely hard until late autumn when they soften and dehisce the seeds. Seeds will germinate readily after cold stratification" If seed is sown immediately, as soon as it is ripe in the Fall, they may germinate in 1-3 months with no moist chill, but for best results you may want to begin with the chill even if you know your seed to be freshest. You're an 8A? I'm 8B, if mine I would sow now through end of January and place the pots outside for mother nature to provide some fluctuating temps before becoming more consistently warmer.

Weebay, I ws'd A. tomentosa 3 years ago, with great success. Soaked in hot water for 24 hours; sowed on February 20th; sprouted May 14th. I got between 5-10 sprouts, and potted up about 5. Well, I never figured out where to plant them, and so they are still in pots! Unfortunately 3 have died off with only 2 healthy plants left in 1 gallon pots. They probably all would have survived if they had been planted in the ground or potted up to larger containers sooner. But, winter-sowing makes starting stuff from seed so easy, that I have this problem with sprouting vines, shrubs and trees, and not knowing where to plant them! Supposedly, A. tomentosa and A. macrophylla are the only 2 pipevine species that will be hardy in our colder zones. They grow well in partial shade. Aristolochia is a host plant for the Pipevine Swallowtail, which I have never seen around here, but may be resident in your area. I ordered the seed from Easywildflowers.com and they still sell it. Very nice guy runs that company, generous quantities, great germination, and I shared many of the extra seeds in SASBEs. Still have some left, but not sure if they are still viable?? Somewhere I read these lose viability quickly; however I am meticulous about storing seeds, so it wouldn't surprise me if they sprouted fine.

Here is some information based on my personal experiences with growing different types of Pipevine from seed and otherwise: Fimbriata grows well from seed and germinates fairly quickly. If you are in Texas, that would be first choice for ease of germination and growth. I got my seed from someone on one of the forums last year. You could do a search for "Fimbriata seeds" and find out who had them. I am getting little "pipes" on my plants. If they get pollinated, I should have some seed this fall. Since I live in Oklahoma, the Fimbriata is not hardy here and I'll have to give it winter protection, or start again from seed. I also planted Serpentaria seed last fall and it germinated. It takes a long time for the plants to get any size; whereas the Fimbriata grew rather quickly. Rod Angeroth offered the seed on our forum last fall, so watch for his posting. The Serpentaria plants have been the first choice of the Pipevines in my yard. Second choice has been Tomentosa. As soon as I find the caterpillars on the Serpentaria, I move them over to the Tomentosa to conserve the Serpentaria plants for egg laying. I have a seed pod on my Tomentosa but it hasn't matured yet. I'll see what happens when I plant the seeds as to whether it germinates easily. I may have some extra seeds to spare. Since this is my first time to have a pod mature, I don't know what to expect. My Tomentosa plants were either purchased or collected from outside my neighborhood where it grows wild. It is very hard to get the cuttings to root. I've had minimal success doing this. Clematitis takes a long time to germinate. After 6 months, 2 of my dozen seeds germinated. Those 2 plants have taken off. I have purchased 6 more plants from a native plant vendor, and Susan gave me a start. So far the Clematitis has been ignored in my garden. But, I think that it will be discovered as it spreads. I have Macrophylla also, but that has been my slowest grower, and it hasn't had any attention from the Pipevines. I didn't start it from seed, but purchased the plant from a native nursery in our state. Sandy

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.