I love my Dutchman’s pipe!

I planted Dutchman ’s pipe ( Aristolochia macrophylla , syn . A. durior , Zones 5 - 8) on my pergola perchance 6 years ago , having see it on some arbors in Saratoga Springs , New York , the summertime before , as well as on old homesteads in Virginia in my puerility . It ’s a buirdly perennial vine with large , imbrication , heart - forge leaves . It ’s going gangbusters for me , though I probably should have done some early training to avoid the Byzantine mess the woody vine have become .

In spring and early summertime , the vine blooms with intriguingly odd peak that obviously account for the works ’s name . There are tons of them , but they do n’t leap out out at you right away , since they ’re tucked in amongst the foliage and are n’t a flashy colour . But they ’re cool ! The only downside is that when they fall from the vine onto my Harlan F. Stone terrace , they run to look like the cadaver of slugs …

Why are n’t we using this vine more in our garden ? While I ’ve always thought of it as a traditional southern vine ( it ’s aboriginal to the S.E. United States ) , it ’s quite happy in my Zone 5 - 6ish garden , and is doing fine with just good afternoon sun . It ’s monumental when fledged , but not aggressive . It ’s a steady , dependable woody vine that ’ll shade off you all summer without any squabble . What more could you ask for ? Give it a endeavor !

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