Hi Peggy, I grow lots of A. Fimbriata here in my part of Texas. I am a west of Dallas/Fort Worth. My zone class. is 7b/8a. My fimbriata does very well. After the first frost I rake leaves over the top of them. So I wouldn't think you will have any problems with them coming back.The only problem is that the vines don't get very large so you have to grow lots of it to sustain the pipevine's. It took several years before mine was established enough for the cats. All told I have around 50 plants in different area's and it is never enough. Last year I added several of the tometosa and that has helped alot as far as providing enough food. It has been my experience that they like the fimbriata best but when thats depleted they will move to the tomentosa. Believe me when I say they will find every tiny bit of pipevine growing. I have watched the cats travel around my yard looking for more.
This year I had the pipevines earlier than ever, I never even got to see flowers much less seed. I noticed a few days ago my pipevine had started coming back out after the last wave of cats, I actually thought maybe I would get flowers and some seed but alas yesterday a momma was laying her eggs all over them. I really can't complain, that's what it's growing for.

Hope

Aristolochia fimbriata have always out performed all other pipevines for my fellow gardeners and I, in the area, in our existing soils without ammendments. They have certainly established faster than A. tomentosa, A. californica, and A. serpentaria. However, A. gigantea has done equally well, and they have been successfully hosting goldrim swallowtials the past several years.

Although, I still need to try balancing the pH for my A. tomentosa.

I have seen some very large A. fimbriata plants growing within the free range of chickens. The chickens remove the caterpillars and fertilize with their droppings allowing the vines to get quite large.

The A. fimbriata, in my personal gardens, have always performed well, at all stages, with caterpillars eating them to the ground. They rarely reach the point where they have amassed large flowing mounds of their gorgeous marbled foliage, because the caterpillars mow them down numerous times per year and they always faithfully return.

Can I direct sow the seeds next spring or even this fall? Does it do best in full sun, partial shade, or shade?

This past spring I put a Maypop in the shade since it was very small and we were already quite warm when it arrived.

It slowly grew up with the cardinal climber vine and mixed in with it. Gulf Frits found it so there is none to be seen now. LOL

I did see a few flowers, was quite nice with the red blooms of the cardinal climber vine. I have had 3 or 4 pop up in the flower bed and I hope to move them to a new location for next spring.

Am excited to have seeds for a new host plant.

Thanks for all the help!
Peggy

Well, I have seen it do well in all three light exposures around the greater Houston area. The largest and most vibrant one that I have ever seen got atleast 6 hours of full sun most of the year.

Out there in West Texas it may be a bit different. I would guess that if you have an area with good fertile garden soil, that can retain a bit of moisture, it would do good with alot of sun, say 6 hours.

If your soil is really well drained you may want to try to give it a good bit of shade. Most information says that A. fimbriata likes a little shade, and I have some doing very well dappled shade most the day, and maybe 45 minutes of combined direct light throughout the day, but in Winter this location gets more light as the sun goes south and then is able to directly shine upon the ground beneath the large canopy of trees.

A. fimbriata seeds can take a long time to germinate, so I would go ahead and direct sow them now. When left on the plant to self sow, I have seen them germinate in about a month.

On second thought after remembering talking to people who garden in arid regions, I'm assuming your in an arid region? You may want to give it alot of shade.

I remember talking to people who garden in Arizona, and they were telling me how fast water evaporated out of their ponds out there. If you're in a similiar situation you may want to give it all the protection available from the sun.

htown

I'm on the western edge of Central Texas by some maps and on others am considered to be in West Texas. Yes, it is hot and dry most of the time with this year being the exception...in all my years I do not think I have ever seen such a cool, wet spring/summer in our area. We had just a few days over 100 and early in the summer already had 22 inches of rainfall which is much more than we had as annual rainfall over the last several years.

Thanks so much for the advise!
Peggy