Texas Gardening: Passion Vine, 1 by jujubetexas

jujubetexas wrote:
Here are some pictures of the fruit of the native Maypop from earlier this season. The fruit in my hand is about 10-12 days old and it gets about twice that size. The fruit is tasty and has a strong Pineapple accent to it. The flavor varies from plant to plant so you might get one that is nasty. If you get one from a nursery, it probably has a decent taste.

The native has a smaller flower that is a very light purple. It is less aggressive but still invasive. The hybrid Incense is larger, more ornate and darker purple. It can be very invasive. Incense isnt really known for its fruit while the native can be grown specifically for that reason.

The native was known as a horrible weed until the invention of Roundup and other pesticides and can be easily managed with multiple doses in spring when the plants are first coming up.

Incense is a man made hybrid of Maypop and Passiflora cinnicata. It can not pollinate other flowers but other flowers can pollinate it.

The vine is excellent for shading the south portion of the house in summer while dying back and allowing full sun to heat the house in the winter.

This may not be a good choice for a small garden or yard.