TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk
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It is an Aristolochia flower. The flowers trap insects for pollination a bit like a pitcher plant with long downward pointing hairs. When the plant has been pollinated, these hairs wither and flies can escape along with a load of pollen for the next flower! I expect it probably smells quite horrible to encourage the flies. There are some hardy species of Aristolochia which you can grow in the garden in the UK!
I've recently received 3 Aristolochias:
A. grandiflora
A. gigantea
A. 'Peruvensis'
So far they are very easy climbers (a trellis with many places for it to twine will make it happy) Mine have not yet flowered (only 24"-36" tall right now so I do not know how large they need to be before they get those flowers. The local orchid shop has the only Aristolochia I'd ever seen and it's humungous. The main vine is so old it's deveoped a woody outter covering but when the entire rafters of the orchid shop is covered in fresh vine and humungous flowers from spring til fall it's really something to see. People say the flowers "stink" but I have never noticed an odd scent coming from them. Jerry (the guy who owns the orchid shop) said his Aristolochia (the grandiflora species) wasn't doing as well until he planted it right into the soil floor of the greenhouse he said they have extensive root systems and will only grow large & fast if allowed a very large pot or planted in actual ground.
I'm growing mine in a large flower trough and up a trellis in the living room. I will try growing cuttings in my new lowland nepenthes enclosure when I get it built but I have a feeling it will be difficult to keep the vine undercontrol with the bright light, humidity and heat of a lowland terrarium!
A. grandiflora
A. gigantea
A. 'Peruvensis'
So far they are very easy climbers (a trellis with many places for it to twine will make it happy) Mine have not yet flowered (only 24"-36" tall right now so I do not know how large they need to be before they get those flowers. The local orchid shop has the only Aristolochia I'd ever seen and it's humungous. The main vine is so old it's deveoped a woody outter covering but when the entire rafters of the orchid shop is covered in fresh vine and humungous flowers from spring til fall it's really something to see. People say the flowers "stink" but I have never noticed an odd scent coming from them. Jerry (the guy who owns the orchid shop) said his Aristolochia (the grandiflora species) wasn't doing as well until he planted it right into the soil floor of the greenhouse he said they have extensive root systems and will only grow large & fast if allowed a very large pot or planted in actual ground.
I'm growing mine in a large flower trough and up a trellis in the living room. I will try growing cuttings in my new lowland nepenthes enclosure when I get it built but I have a feeling it will be difficult to keep the vine undercontrol with the bright light, humidity and heat of a lowland terrarium!
