Hi Sherry and Sandy, Thanks for your comments. I hesitated somewhat posting on this forum as I had read that A. gigantea (and I believe A. elegans) are toxic to some butterfly larvae. However, I assumed that there would be people with considerable experience growing Aristolochias on this forum. The nature of the toxicity is not clear to me, nor is it clear whether a hybrid would share that problem. Is it even known whether the "toxicity" is due to a poisonous substance or substances, or whether the plants are "poisonous" simply because they lack some molecule(s) necessary for the caterpillars' survival? Regardless, I assumed that on a forum like this there would be a number of people who started growing Aristolochias for the butterflies, but then fell in love with the genus for the plants themselves. I know that is true of many who grow Passifloras. I'm not familiar with the debates over the naming of A. durior and A. macrophylla. For some reason I had thought they were synonyms. I have a friend who used to be involved in vine propagation at UCBG and I'm hoping to get his thoughts as to whether the parent could have been A. gigantea. I'm sure there are cases where the flowers of a hybrid are larger than either parent, but (particularly in the absence of polyploidy) I would expect they are rare. An 8 inch flower (assuming the description is correct) is a pretty dramatic increase in size. The white flecks on the leaves are also highly suspicious. Again, my impression is that those are diagnostic of A. gigantea, and never found in A. durior/macrophylla or A. elegans. The white "flecks" are odd enough that many people think their A. gigantea is diseased the first time they notice them. My interest is in the ornamental aspect of the plant, as well as its adaptability. I've grown other Aristolochias--A. gigantea, trilobata/macroura, elegans, and fimbriata. I've offered both unrooted and rooted cuttings of A. gigantea for postage in the past, and at the moment I have rooted cuttings of A. trilobata/macroura that I will need to find homes for. What intrigues me about this particular hybrid is the possibility that it could resemble one of the tropical species in terms of large and dramatic flowers, yet have unusual hardiness. The hardiness is not an issue for me, but it would be for people living in most of the rest of the country. I would guess that there would be people interested in growing such a hybrid outside if it were possible in their climate. Passiflora incarnata is an example of a plant whose hybrids differ in their hardiness. Passiflora 'Incense' (P. incarnata x cincinnata) is one that is reasonably hardy for many people (typically given as zone 7, I think, sometimes even zone 6). Others are much less hardy. In that case the origin of the P. incarnata parent may be one factor, as strains from more Northern regions are not nearly as hardy as those from the Deep South. The bottom line is that for either P. incarnata hybrids or for Aristolochia durior x elegans, the hardiness of the hybrid can't be easily predicted. It needs to be tested. But yes, for those whose sole focus is attracting butterflies, the issue of toxicity is probably more important than hardiness. By the way, I think the Yahoo Aristolochia group has essentially died, with almost no posts in the last year or two.

Pam, I'll definitely be checking them out. if people on here wanna continue being generous, I'd rather go that route. but I am not at all opposed to buying seeds if I can't get the kinds I want via trade. MsPeppajo: I've never heard of onza roja, but in general the goal here is known hybrids, (preferably really hot ones), as opposed to mystery peppers. I do appreciate the offer though. speaking of hybrids, I was making thai pepper sauce earlier today, and in the process of de-stemming 150 pods, I noticed one had only 2 seeds in the whole pod. those of you who are familiar with thai peppers know that they're basically a bunch of seeds, with a thin coating of pepper. I've heard that sometimes a cross will result in much fewer seeds than normal. I tried to cross my thai with my brain strain earlier this year, but kinda gave up because most of the host flowers on the thai dropped. now I can't help wondering if this was one that didn't drop, or was the result of cross pollination with another one of my plants (they're anything BUT isolated). is it safe to assume if the goal is to get a few hybrids next year I should try to germinate those 2 seeds?

I have only been a serious “rosarian” for three years but it has quickly tuned into an obsession! I only purchase Kordes roses because of their fragrance and beauty_ also pre- Covid 19, Lowe’s sold them . Unfortunately, 4 of my Summer Romance contracted RRD and had to be destroyed 😔. I bought these from Lowe’s, but my neighbor’s Knock Out roses had RRD and I suspect the wind transferred the mite to my roses. As to the Kordes Savannah, I purchased three Kordes rose bushes at Lowe’s, and although they were ticketed as Plum Perfect, the roses on the bushes were pink. I finally decided that they were mis- labeled. I’m not sure how I arrived at the conclusion that they were Kordes Savannah, probably from comparison of pictures on line. My Savannah’s have been constant and prolific bloomers for the last two years and their fragrance is divine. They are definitely pink and I see no apricot tones on mine. I have attached two photos. If these aren’t Savannah, I would appreciate a heads up. Also attached a photo of a Summer Romance bush in full bloom.

Adam, I would expect you to get something. Don't hold your breath for the D. gigas to flower. I've had three of them for a few years and have not seen mine flower, while all my other Dorstenia flower all year long. The problem I see is that they are selfing so when you take the pollen from one to cross it to the other, you've already pollinated the donor. The other thought is that it might not work, if the receptors on the stigma are a different shape from that of the pollen. I think this is a question for Michael (OOA). I'm patiently waiting for my D. lavrani to flower so I will know if I have one of each sex. I think it's going to be a long time coming!!!! This post was edited by bikerdoc5968 on Sat, Jan 10, 15 at 14:07