How to Germinate Aristolochia Serpentaria

Aristolochia serpentaria is the botanical name for Virginia snakeroot, a species of perennial flowering plant native to the woodlands of eastern North America. It is exceptionally rare within its native range, but gardeners with a passion for native plants sometimes grow it for its slender, heart-shaped leaves and tubular, purplish-brown flowers. Like most Aristolochia species, Aristolochia serpentaria grows reliably from seeds if they are pretreated with hot water and exposed to bright light. However, the seeds can take up to three months to sprout and will not reach full maturity for two to three years.

Vacuum flask
Filtered water
6-inch plastic pots
Garden soil
Spray bottle
Grow light

Instructions

- 1
  Soak the Aristolochia serpentaria seeds in a vacuum flask filled with 175 F water for two days. Remove the seeds from the flask one hour before sowing them.
- 2
  Fill 6-inch plastic pots with garden soil. Sow one Aristolochia serpentaria seed in each pot. Press the seed into the soil so most of it is beneath the surface but the top is still exposed. Do not cover the seed completely since it needs light to germinate.
- 3
  Mist each pot heavily with a spray bottle filled with filtered water. Mist the soil until it feels wet when probed in the top inch. Maintain moisture at that level for the duration of germination.
- 4
  Place the pots in a greenhouse or indoors near a large window. Suspend a grow-light or another type of fluorescent lamp above the pots so the Aristolochia serpentaria seeds have eight to 10 hours of light each day.
- 5
  Look for signs of germination in 30 to 90 days. Move the pots with germinated Aristolochia serpentaria seeds to a sheltered spot with very bright light and temperatures above 55 F.
- 6
  Keep the seedlings sheltered until spring and continue the watering regimen described in Step 3. Transplant the Aristolochia serpentaria seedlings into a permanent pot or bed once nighttime temperatures stay reliably above 48 F. Space the vines 2 to 4 feet apart.

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