| How can I propagate a perennial vine we call Dutchmans Pipe? This vine has large heart shaped leaves and is about 75 years old. I have never seen any small shoots or runners coming from this plant. How can I positively identify this plant? |
| Dutchman's Pipe is a native vine from Pennsylvania to Georgia and the official name is Aristolochia durior. A search for photos using that name should be more productive. In any case, it is rather unmistakable in bloom and I have never seen anything else even remotely like it. It was a popular vine for screening porches and the like, so the age sounds about right, too. According to Michael A. Dirr's Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, this vine can be propagated by July cuttings treated with rooting hormone, by root division, or by seed. Seed should be stratified for three months at 40 degrees (the refrigerator should do) or simply planted in the fall for germination the following spring. To be honest I would suggest you try the cuttings and seeds rather than disturb the roots and risk the plant. Good luck with your project! |
