Know anything about Dutchman's Pipe?

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I want to get a perennial climbing vine on the telephone pole in our yard (it's ours, not the city's) and we already have dutchman's pipe all around the house. Last fall, I collected a bunch of seeds in the hopes of planting them by the pole. Only question would be, how? Do I nick them? When I tried germinating them, they didn't do anything after like a month of soaking. What time of year should I put them in the dirt?

Thanks in advance for your help.

I had never heard of the plant 'Dutchman's pipe' before.. looked it up but couldn't find any useful info about germination of this particular species of plant.. but.. maybe you could try the 'generally used' double plate method here.


*plate
*moist paper tissue
*seeds (well apart from each other)
*moist paper tissue
*plate, up side down

Place it in a 'warm' spot (room T.) but not in direct sunlight. Make sure the paper tissues never dry out and if all goes well you should see some little roots appear.. within.. two weeks (?). If so, handle the rooted seeds with gentle care and place them in a pot with a medium like good quality soil. Maybe 'air' the soil a little with sand so the roots can more easily 'ground' in the medium. Again, place it in a nice warm spot but NOT in direct sunlight and oh.. make sure the soil stays moist. (don't over-water it thought)

Well, hope this is of any help. (maybe look up stuff about germination in general also.. for there are several methods.. )

Good luck.

Found on-line and noted some time ago. Sorry, link lost.

Preparing Dutchman's Pipe Seeds (Aristolochia)
Step 1
Collect the seed pods from a Dutchman's pipe vine when they are dry and start to turn brown. You can do this from summer through fall.

Step 2
Cut open or squeeze open the seed pods to remove the Dutchman's pipe seeds from their pods.

Step 3
Cut, nick or file off a section from the seed-coat on each of the seeds. This will help to improve the rate of germination.

Step 4
Plant the Dutchman's pipe seeds as soon as possible. (See section 2 for planting seeds). If you are planting purchased seeds proceed to step 5.

Step 5
Measure out approximately 1 cup of sphagnum peat moss. Place the peat moss into a sieve or colander. Pour tap water over the moss until it is damp but not so wet that it is dripping with water.

Step 6
Place the seeds into a zipper top plastic bag. Place the moss on top of the seeds then put the bag into a refrigerator for a three month cold storage at approximately 35 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 7
Separate the Dutchman's pipe seeds from the moss after the three month cold storage has passed, and pot them up.

Planting Dutchman's Pipe Seeds
Step 1
Fill up 4-inch plastic pots with sterilized seed raising mix to within 1/2 inch from the top.

Step 2
Place the 4-inch pots into a shallow tray. Pour about 1-inch of water into the tray, and let the mix in the pots soak up the water until the mix is well dampened. Let the water drain away from the pots before proceeding.

Step 3
Place the seeds into a shallow ceramic or metal bowl. Pour approximately 1-inch of water over the seeds, and let them soak for no more than 24 hours.

Step 4
Poke 3/8 inch deep holes, one per pot, in the center of each of the 4-inch pots.

Step 5
Drop one Dutchman's pipe seed into each of the holes.

Step 6
Cover up the seeds with no more than 3/8 inch of seed raising mix.

Step 7
Place the pots in a location where it will remain between 65 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not place the pots in direct sunlight, but try and provide six to eight hours of indirect light daily. Keep the seed raising mix moist, but not soggy damp. Germination of Dutchman's pipe can begin in three weeks or take as long as three months.