Dutchman's Pipe
Aristolochia macrophylla (durior)
The host vine for iridescent pipevine swallowtails: no vine, no butterflies. Big heart-shaped leaves make a dense, leafy privacy screen.
Typically 1 quart–3 gal · $17–$85 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
The host plant for pipevine swallowtails. without it in your garden, you simply won't see those iridescent blue-black wings.
Dutchman's pipe is the host plant for pipevine swallowtail butterflies, one of the most dramatically beautiful native butterflies in eastern North America, with iridescent blue-black hindwings. Without this vine, you will not have these butterflies. The connection is that direct. Plant dutchman's pipe near a porch or path where you can see the adults laying eggs and the caterpillars feeding through summer. Large, heart-shaped leaves create an unusually dense, tropical-looking screen on a fence or arbor, perfect for privacy without the formality of a hedge. The curved pipe-shaped flowers in late spring are botanical curiosities, modest in color but fascinating up close. This vine earns its keep through the butterflies it sustains more than its own visual drama.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown dutchman's pipe propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Part sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 15–30 ft · 5–10 ft wide
- Bloom time
- Spring
- USDA zones
- 4–8
- Family
- Aristolochiaceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America
Care notes for dutchman's pipe.
Part shade to full shade, consistently moist soil. Does best in cooler microclimates in the South. sited where afternoon sun is blocked. Water regularly; does not tolerate drought well. Train on a strong trellis or fence. Prune in late winter to control size. Do not deadhead or remove caterpillar-eaten foliage. that's the point.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside dutchman's pipe.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.