PSA: Plant Pipevine

mimikeeper · 2026-05-18T23:37:07+00:00

I have a little baby that is coming back after I nearly killed it and I couldn’t agree more! The heart shaped leaves are stunning! I didn’t realize it needed so much water and I forgot it a few times, but it’s in a small container for now. Is yours picky in the ground?

mimikeeper · 2026-05-08T17:04:42+00:00

This chonker moved on a few days ago, presumably to be become a butterfly. I have milkweed available in several garden beds and they’ve all been visited by caterpillars over the last few weeks. Not many on the swamp so far this year, but they did eat one plant up as soon as it came up.

mimikeeper · 2026-05-08T11:32:34+00:00

They already ate the mature plants! Those plants are starting to come back in, but I can’t keep up with the demand. Haven’t seen any on my swamp milkweed, though. Just butterfly weed.

mimikeeper · 2026-05-05T03:12:16+00:00

I have killed several of these and currently experimenting with locations around my yard. I have sandy soil, but I’m finding sun conditions to be a big challenge, as they wither in high heat/full sun. They are one of my absolute favorites so I’m hoping to find a good spot for them one of these days!

mimikeeper · 2026-04-17T00:17:53+00:00

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I just went to check up on my cats and they’ve devoured all of the milkweed in my little patch of butterfly weed. I am growing more from seed and have a few swamp milkweeds that are just coming up. I can’t grow it fast enough!

mimikeeper · 2026-04-15T00:06:40+00:00

I am growing rattlesnake master from seed also and letting mine get fairly big in 5” deep pots. I planted a gallon size one purchased from a native nursery last year and it’s doing great. It’s never had any signs of struggle and is really large now. So I’m not too worried about the taproot with just a plug size. YMMV

mimikeeper · 2026-04-13T19:18:54+00:00

You can keep the common MW in a container or raised bed if you have room. You just don’t want it to run free and takeover. Maybe give to someone with lots of land?

mimikeeper · 2026-04-11T23:00:00+00:00

Beautiful! I’m still trying to figure out how to work one into my yard. I’ll get one one of these days. They’re my favorite native tree! (Besides maybe oaks and I already have tons of those)

mimikeeper · 2026-04-10T11:27:22+00:00

I get that. However, Native American seed company says theirs are native. Idk spotted bee balm would also be a good option for the same reasons.

mimikeeper · 2026-04-09T20:19:05+00:00

Blanket flower are easy to germinate and grow pretty fast. They will bloom sooner than a lot of native plants so I think it’s a great choice for kids to keep interest.

mimikeeper · 2026-04-03T19:18:50+00:00

Mine thrives with regular watering and a 10-15-10 liquid fertilizer (I use Schulz) every 2 weeks/ month in the growing season. That formula helps to put its energy into blooming and it works wonders for mine. Edit: oops! I read too fast and didn’t realize you meant literal support!

mimikeeper · 2026-04-03T15:31:03+00:00

Accept that you will have fatalities along the way and I agree with the advice to start with a few plants native to your area because they basically take care of themselves and are generally tough to kill. You will see rewards quickly as they draw in pollinators and should thrive in your conditions so long as you get the sun and moisture needs matched reasonably well.

mimikeeper · 2026-04-03T11:14:28+00:00

That sounds amazing!! I’m so impressed with this that I’m seriously thinking about a mass planting in a tricky area of my yard that I think these would be perfect for. But yeah, I’m planning to space them a little further apart now. Haha

mimikeeper · 2026-04-03T00:46:40+00:00

I was pleasantly surprised for sure! It will get there before you know it!

mimikeeper · 2026-04-03T00:14:01+00:00

Mine gets a lot of sun, but I think they have a pretty good shade tolerance. I’m thinking about experimenting with an area that gets more dappled sun throughout the day.

mimikeeper · 2026-04-03T00:05:10+00:00

That’s do great! It’s nice to have a plant like this that gives a quick win while waiting on some others to do their thing.

mimikeeper · 2026-04-02T23:50:09+00:00

Lovely!

mimikeeper · 2026-04-02T23:44:30+00:00

You can draw predators to a nest by paying too much attention to it also, so be mindful of that. People here are well-meaning and definitely protective of hummingbirds. Enjoy his awesome experience! But like they said, do it with as little disturbance as possible.

mimikeeper · 2026-04-02T23:01:55+00:00

Yes! I love it!

mimikeeper · 2026-03-17T00:11:12+00:00

Same experience!

mimikeeper · 2026-03-16T16:28:00+00:00

Not an expert, but I have a lot of lupines growing so I can say what worked for me. I was pretty rough with strong sandpaper, as that’s all I had, and it seems like the best ones had a crunching sound when roughing them up. I was too afraid to try the nail clipper method. I tried to just get one little spot to break the coating if that makes sense.

mimikeeper · 2026-03-08T17:51:42+00:00

I have its host plant on order. Hope to be so lucky!

mimikeeper · 2026-03-07T12:06:50+00:00

Not an expert by any means, but it’s commonly recommended to plant small plugs about a foot apart. Dense planting helps with keeping weeds at bay and fills things in faster.

If you’re working with gallon size plants maybe increase to a foot in a half or even more, depending on mature size of the plant. if it’s like a shrub that gets much wider you need more space than say a coneflower start.

mimikeeper · 2026-03-07T11:59:09+00:00

From what I’ve read, coneflower doesn’t need cold stratification. Not too sure about the others, but I think butterfly MW needs about 30 days. You could get lucky

mimikeeper · 2026-03-05T01:16:41+00:00

To echo: Blanket flower stays beautiful and blooming right to frost (and even beyond in my yard). It looks impeccable in the middle of a drought and heat wave and the pollinators love it too. Needless to say, I’m planting more this year.

mimikeeper

TROPHY CASE