Large, Brown and Puffy Flower That Looks Like an Elephant Ear on a Vine

Description

• Dutchman's pipe grows up to 15 feet long, with heart-shaped leaves 3 inches in length. The leaves grow abundantly on fine, spiraling stems that become woody with age. The flowers produce a strong odor of rotting meat in order to attract pollinating flies and appear throughout the warmer months of the year. Dutchman's pipe plants produce capsules that split open to release winged seeds.

Cultivation

• A vigorous creeper, Dutchman's pipe thrives if grown over a pergola or trellis. It grows well in partial and full shade. Frost kills the Dutchman's pipe to the ground, and it requires winter temperatures above 50 degrees Fahrenheit to survive as a perennial. It thrives in temperatures between 68 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit and requires rich, well-drained soil. Water it twice a week or when the surface of the soil starts to dry out, and prune the vine back during the fall.

Propagation

• Soak Dutchman's pipe seeds in water for 48 hours then sow them on the surface of damp potting compost. Take cuttings from new growth during the early fall. Dip them in hormone-rooting powder and plant them in free-draining compost. Place the cuttings in a warm location, such as a sunny windowsill or in a propagator that provides bottom heat.

Warnings

• All parts of the Dutchman's pipe have toxic alkaloids. The Florida Nurserymen and Growers Association has asked all nurseries to phase out production of the species due to its potential as an invasive species in Florida.