snake root

[doyleflory]

Has any one grown Virgina snake root from seed??
Or have you started from cuttings? Any info is more than i know and will be forever in your debt.

[furbuy46]

You owe me big time then. It is commonly grown from seed. I have some here at my house that is sending seed to different areas of the yard. My brother also has some that has sent seed about 30 ft down his driveway and into the driveway.

[firemanphob]

Doyle, here is some things that I found doing a web search.

Thursday, June 14, 2007
Virginia snakeroot (Aristolochia serpentaria)
Pipevine swallowtail butterflies are one of the picky sorts that can only lay their eggs and raise larvae on a very few plants. Aristolochias include the big Dutchman's Pipe vine and the small groundcover Virginia Snakeroot vine. I don't have room for the big Dutchman's Pipe vine and the idea of meeting big black wormy things at eye level is disturbing so I set out to acquire some Virginia snakeroot. Not as easy as you would hope. Through a Garden Web forum I found a man who grows odd woodland plants. His nursery is called Loess Roots but he doesn't seem to have a website. He provided me with a packet of seeds in exchange for keeping records and telling him how I germinated them. I did one batch the winter of 2005 and another in 2006. They need winter chilling to germinate so I did them in flats of a soil and sand mix and got about a 25% germination rate which he said was quite good. The first ones are planted out in the front bed and the second are still in the pots where they wintered over. I didn't think either were going to come up but they are finally emerging and growing. Maybe next year I will get butterflies.

Cultivation details
Prefers a well-drained loamy soil, rich in organic matter, in sun or semi-shade[1, 200], but succeeds in ordinary garden soil[134].

This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[200].

Most species in this genus have malodorous flowers that are pollinated by flies[200]. The flowers of this plant are sometimes cleistogomous[235].
Propagation
Seed - best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe in the autumn. Pre-soak stored seed for 48 hours in hand-hot water and surface sow in a greenhouse[134]. Germination usually takes place within 1 - 3 months at 20°c[134]. Stored seed germinates better if it is given 3 months cold stratification at 5°c[200]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts.

Division in autumn[200].

Root cuttings in winter[200].

Maybe this will help
mike

[furbuy46]

good gravy, that guy makes it sound almost impossible to grow the plant from seed. I been doing it for quite some time and just let mother nature take her course. They are not hard to grow nor germinate. I ain't never seen a butterfly on my plants as the seeds are either right next to the ground or under the leaf mulch. I have several plants around the house that all came from 1 little snakeroot plant. Doyle you may be a bit far north for virginia snakeroot.

[doyleflory]

Don i have 30 or 40 plants here in my woods,i have just started hunting for it this year.It has seed pods on now that look close to being ready.I just want to try planting some to see what happens.
Thanks mike i had read that and wounder if she is talking the same snake root that we are.I will pick the seed and give it a try.

[furbuy46]

Doyle the latin name she mentions is the correct snakeroot. Doyle the seed will turn a shiny black . The outside casing will get a darkish purple look to them. When they are ready, they will usually just start to kinda unpeal like a banana. You kinda got to keep a close eye on them once they are ripe, or ya won't get any seed, the mice will beat ya to them.

[furbuy46]

This is what the seed pod looks like just before the seed is ripe.

This is what the pod looks like in the ripe ot just a bit over ripe stage.

[doyleflory]

Don thanks i know you are right on this,she has the right name but not the right info.Just anouther city gal that thinks she knows mother nathure.They think if you just leave the poor coyotes alone we can all live in peace and harmony.lol Thanks again.

[K9Wolfer]

Making it sound like you have to stratify seeds like Ginseng...........

[furbuy46]

Yepper Wolfer, she makes it way to complicated. I personally don't have a bit of trouble with the seed germinating. Like I said before, I brought a couple plants in from the woods and planted them in a wild flower bed next to the foundation of my house. The dang things have sprung up in several different locations in other flower beds, including the wifes day lilly bed.

[firemanphob]

Actually Doyle, that is two different articles that I pasted together. From "cultivation" down is by another author. Seemed he knew more than the gal who wrote the top half.
Mike

[doyleflory]

Thanks Mike

[K9Wolfer]

Don what do they use Virginia Snakeroot for?