I got 3 roots, and 2 of them are up all over the place, but the 3rd is being a bit slow about it. Zebz, I'm surprised you're not getting any growth yet. Have you looked really closely at the ground - sometimes it's hard to see them when they first poke their little stems out of the ground cause they kind of blend in with the color of the soil. I usually kind of run my hand over the ground and if I feel something, I take a closer look. These were really hard to see, until the foliage actually opened up and I could see the green. Susan

Muy bueno & thanks to all who posted responses on this one! I'm going to harvest the seeds I see forming and take my 'leap of faith' by winter sowing them on the solstice. Far as I'm concerned they're getting their "warm" today & tomorrow when the temp is hovering around 60 degrees here in north central CT. I checked Google + the garden watchdog website before posting the question here and got some good information but nothing related to winter sowing. Once I see the results of WS these seeds, I'll add my information to the DG website for the benefit of others. morz8 - one poster on the DG website said he/she transplants the self-sown seedlings every year. I'm no expert but since this is an eastern U.S. native species, could the reason you don't see self-seeds is your location? If I thought I'd remember to do it, I'd promise to post my results. Anybody who's curious is welcome to ping me and ask when the time comes.

Cass, I can't really speak for Zone 8. But, from experience, the serpentaria does not get very large, and the leaves are quite tender, making it beneficial for the younger cats. It would take "mega" amounts of it to feed an entire colony. I tend to supplement the tomentosa and clematitis with the serpentaria. I have not tried the fimbriata, but I hear that it does quite well in Texas. Hopefully, someone from Texas will be of more help. It will take alot of plants of whatever you choose, as they tend to lay lots of eggs, and eat alot. But, the rewards are just heaven!!! They are most the most beautiful butterfly, and the caterpillars are just too cute. I hear your pain. Aristolochia is hard to find. I've had to mail order all of mine, and it is not cheap. And, the plants are usually quite small. It is taken me 3 years for my plants to get established enough to have a colony all summer. Good luck with whatever you decide. I commend you for your interest in native plants. I have started planting more native plants. They just seem to do much better. Keep us posted. For those of you interested in the seeds, I have had excellent luck with germination with refrigerating the seeds with a lil moisture until about February, and then Wintersowing them in pots inside plastic bags with slits. My germination was much better than planting the seeds in the ground. You may want to try sowing some in the ground, and some in pots, and see what works better for you. :)

The seeds are slow to germinate, they generally need a period of wet/humid weather before they show themselves. The tiny seedlings/are miniatures of the large mother plants, so beware when weeding that you don't accidentally mistake them for weeds and pull them out! So, for those of you trying to germinate the seed, be patient. I've got two packets of Virginia snakeroot seed left for anyone that wants to give it a try, but I can't vouch for their viability after being in the fridge these many months. Rod A.