# @ahs_gardening on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DJmPcXstcjK
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/55035922-ahs-gardening-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/dc4ec8e75d.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-05-13T14:43:21.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** American Horticultural Society | American Gardener Magazine (@ahs_gardening) — https://gondola.cc/ahs_gardening

## Caption

🌿 NATIVE PLANT OF THE WEEK⁠
Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia spp.)⁠
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Looking for a vine that’s equal parts gothic charm and ecological hero? Meet Dutchman’s pipe—aka pipevine. With contorted, tubular blooms that look like Sherlock Holmes' smoking pipe, these plants bring drama and support wildlife.⁠
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✨ Why grow it?⁠
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Pipevine swallowtail butterflies 🦋 rely on it as a larval host.⁠
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The blooms are wild and otherworldly (no two look quite the same).⁠
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Despite rumors, most native species don’t smell like rotting flesh—promise.⁠
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🌱 Three to try:⁠
A. macrophylla (Zones 4–8): From Alabama to Maine. Vigorous, leafy climber with heart-shaped leaves and 2-inch blooms.⁠
A. tomentosa (Zones 4–9): Southeastern native with flair. Spreads fast in rich soil—great for a big space or to disguise that chain-link fence.⁠
A. californica (Zones 8–10): California native. Silvery-fuzzed new growth and delicate, veined flowers in late winter.⁠
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💡 Pro tip: These flowers love to hide—plant pipevines near a seating area where you can lean in and appreciate the details.⁠
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Would you grow this strange and wonderful vine? Or already have a favorite Aristolochia in your garden? Tell us below 👇⁠
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#NativePlantOfTheWeek #DutchmansPipe #Aristolochia #PipevineSwallowtail #NativeVines #GrowNative #GardenWildlife #AHSGardening #GardenTips #ClimbingPlants #EcologicalGardening⁠
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For more about these fascinating plants, read “Astounding Aristolochia” by Paul Lee Cannon in the July/August 2015 issue of The American Gardener, which can be found at ahsgardening.org/ahs-publication-archives.⁠
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Photos: Aristolochia tomentosa by Joseph M. McGee, iNaturalist inaturalistorg⁠
Aristolochia marcrophylla by Scott Arboretum scott_arboretum⁠
Aristolochia tomentosa by Connie Rutherford, iNaturalist⁠
Aristolochia californica bu Jordan Collins, iNaturalist⁠
Battus philenor larva by karalyn, iNaturalist⁠

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## Tags

gardentips, climbingplants, ahsgardening, gardenwildlife, pipevineswallowtail, nativeplantoftheweek, grownative, dutchmanspipe, aristolochia, nativevines, ecologicalgardening

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