The Gaping Dutchman’s Pipe is a vine that has large, strangely shaped flowers. It has heart-shaped leaves. It is an evergreen, woody vine that climbs up into trees. Flowers are 7-10 inches long. They are cream or greenish in color with dark purple veins. Fruit is a capsule. Native to Central and northern South America, from Panama to Bolivia, Columbia and Venezuela. It is a host plant of swallowtail butterflies. It has a fast growth rate. It climbs up to 30 feet high in trees. Hardy in zones 9-12.
Growing Instructions for the Gaping Dutchman’s Pipe
- Soak the seed in water for 48 hours. 2. The seeds like moist, rich, well-drained soil. Prepare a mixture of half potting soil and half sand, perlite or vermiculite. Put the soil in a pot. Water the mixture so that it is moist but not wet. 3. Put the seeds on the soil. 4. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil. 5. Water the seeds. 6. Place the pots in an area with warm temperatures in full sun or part shade. 7. When the seedlings are a few inches tall, they can be transplanted.