I grew this passion flower from seeds 2 years ago this is it's third summer. I have no ID for it and would love one.
Last summer it bloomed nicely and the leaves looked pretty healthy. I got it to over winter but it was badly stressed, spider-mites and iffy watering along with crowded conditions didn't do it any good.
This message was edited Jul 15, 2009 9:03 AM
When I brought it outside to the gazebo this year there wasn't much in the way of a healthy plant but it had a new shoot putting up a few leaves. But it is comming along very nicely now. I think the leaves could look a bit healthier but there are tons of flowers coming on.
I have questions about seed collecting and fruit. I could really use some basic growing info or maybe a good link with general info. This year we got one of these. Is it fruit? edible? (not sure I would eat it as I may have sprayed this with a systemic back in April)
Where are the seeds to collect? I was thinking I would get some type of seed pod but not sure that is what this is. Please bring me out of the dark I need info. LOL
I'm new to passies myself .. I can however tell you that the seeds are in the fruit.
X
HollyAnn,
Is your plant growing indoors? It looks like it from your picture.
Dee
I moved it outside for the summer and it is sitting in my gazebo. One of those canvas top jobs with curtains. I was wondering if fruit=seeds. I think I was expecting something different more like morning glories where you get a seed case. I won't be eating this fruit as it may have been sprayed with a systemic insecticide back in April. I usually don't use that type but just couldn't get a handle on the bug issues this year and finally broke down and tried some.
My guess is that you have the traditional "Maypop," Passiflora incarnata http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1189/ but I am no expert in identifying the many cultivars and species.
You do have a nice fruit on the vine. It probably would have been edible except for the insecticides used. I grow mostly P. 'incense' and they seldom seem to make fruit so I can't give much advice on when to harvest the seeds that will be at the center of the fruit. Probably at the point where the fruit falls off the vine naturally, the fruit should be well-ripened and the seeds would then be viable.
Great job on growing it!
Jeremy
Jeremy, Thanks for that link. The fruit is getting much bigger surprising how fast it is growing. If that is the one I have it may be hardy to my zone. Think I will keep it in the pot for now but if I can get seeds to grow I may try one outside next year. PF states "Unblemished fruit must be significantly overripe before harvesting seed; clean and dry seeds"
I would say P. Edulis. Unless you have multiple passifloras, this is the most common type that will self pollinate (incarnata is self-sterile). Not many passion vines will produce fruit without cross pollination. I myself LOVE the taste of passion fruit. Puts you right in the island atmosphere. Very tangy and sweet.
over 500 diferent kinds of pasion vines....try this www.passiflora.org
have some time.....so much to look at.lol
The fruit will usually turn either yellow or purple upon ripening. I just cut the fruits in half and scoop out the insides with a spoon and enjoy!
This is my only Passi, It was grow from seeds that an DGer passed along to me. Although I have a good bit of inside growing room I have found that I'm exceeding my limit and last winters issues brought that home to me. Many of my house plants are still recuperating from the overcrowding conditions. I had been planing to start the GH this summer and with GH plans dancing in my head, I brought home several plants from a fall Florida trip. Big mistake! LOL
GH has been put on hold due to an injury so now we are looking at next summer but I will not be adding any new plants until it is built. More and different Passi are on the list as soon as we get it up and going. Thanks so much for all this great info. I will be checking out all the links.
Hello, I have had a very tame native (white flower) passion vine for several years. It never spread from the roots. When finding large blue passion vines in a garden store, I bought 2 plants and have watched the huge leaves and vines vigorously grow! Now, there are sprouts up to about 15 or 20 feet from the mother plant. I have been jerking up all the sprouts I can, but know that the root system is no doubt going full steam.
I want to put in a galvanized barrier but need to know how deep the large vines' roots grow. Putting all the effort without going deep enough to block the roots would not please me -- at all.
Please let me know; I really will appreciate this. mudlily
Holly,
Yours definitely looks like a Maypop (P. incarnata), although the fruits are usually a little more oblong. If its a P. edulis, your fruit will turn either yellow or purple; if its an incarnata the fruit will stay green. Maypop fruits stay on the vine 8 to 10 weeks. If you want to save the seeds, let it fall naturally from the vine, and then let the fruit ripen indoors for another week or two. If you want to eat the fruit, let it ripen a few days-the fragrance will let you know when its ready. Maypop leaves and vines will die back in the winter--don't worry--they pop out again next May. But first year plants don't have large root systems, so in your climate you should probably bring the pot into a protected spot for the winter.
Mudlily,
I don't know how deep the roots go, but my guess would be normally not more than a few feet deep. However, the roots obviously spread laterally, and when they encounter a barrier, my guess would be that they go down rather than up, and probably send out test lateral shoots every few inches on the way down. So its hard to know how deep of a barrier you would need. If its a common variety I'd try to dig the main plant up, and put it in a large pot. Then yank the residual shoots whenever they show up. This is why a lot of people grow passies in pots--in mild climates they can be very difficult to control. Holly, are you taking notes here--don't put that plant in the ground!
Good luck!
Mark
Well I am confused, everything I have read says that only 1 P. Incarnata will not fruit, you must have multiple to cross. I don't know what to believe anymore! ha ha ha
LOL Mark, Yes I know all about agressive growing vines. I have both wisteria and trumpet vine. Good warning though, My GH when finally finsihed will be more like a tropical garden with some plants planted directly in the ground. After reading more about the passies I think these will stay in their pots. LOL
This info is very helpful Thank you all so much.
Thank you, Mark, for the advice. I had just talked to the garden shop people before getting on line. They believe that the way to solve the problem is to buy some 'brush and stump remover' to put on the shoots. Isn't that ominous?
I had thoughts [or nightmares] about the barrier not being the answer.
I can attest to the onward march of passion vines, since most of my backyard is now living under a huge shroud of Passiflora 'incense'. Within about 5 years time, the original plant has spread about 100 ft in all directions, sending up new vines about every 3 - 6 ft, and have climbed massive old oaks and other trees. I don't know if the brush and stump remover would work on such a slender vine. I think the garden shop's idea is that the poison would be taken in systemically and be carried back along the stem and kill other surrounding plants attached to the same root runner. To me, it is just easier to yank the vines out of the ground. I find it easier to let them get large enough to pull up without having to bend and stretch to pull up all the many small shoots. They don't seem to return if you pull them up when mature.
When I turn the corner on my street, I am now greeted by my neighbor's chain link fence completely covered in P. 'incense' vines and flowers. They don't seem to mind that the passion vine has spread that far. I truly am waiting to see if it will pop up on the other side of the paved street. Then I will know it is capable of spreading anywhere!
But, it is not all bad to be in a passion vine jungle -- my garden is inundated with the aroma of warm honey from the 'incense' flowers and I always have dozens of Gulf Frittilary and Zebra Longwing butterflies around in my garden because they use the vines as the host plant for their caterpillars.
Jeremy
mine are on a arbor in the center of the yard and my husband comes home from UPS at about 4 am and says the yard smells like grape kool aid..lol
"Maypop leaves and vines will die back in the winter"
I'm wondering if I could stop watering my potted plant in the fall and store it in the basement at my sons house for the winter? Does anyone in colder climates do this?
It's amazing they can get out of control. The Gulf Frit's have eaten my maypop back to the nubs, and are working on all my others. I keep moving caterpillars around, and am putting more plants out in pots. Finally put bird netting over my smaller ones to keep them off them till they get bigger.
Yep, not all the caterpillars in Florida could make much of a dent in my P.'incense' jungle. I think some dark night, it will crawl through the windows and I will find myself entwined by morning. LOL
HollyAnn - I can't offer much advice on overwintering Passiflora. Mine stay out in the yard and survive, but our lowest temperatures were about 20 F this past winter, and it was a particularly cold winter (temperatures generally don't go much below 32 F for more than a few hours). I have noticed that P. caerulea http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1264/ earns its common name of "Hardy Passion Vine." It stayed evergreen, full of leaves throughout this past winter. It was great that it is so hardy because the butterflies that emerged early during warm days had a vine on which to lay their eggs. The Gulf Fritillary caterpillars don't seem to mind some cold nights. The caterpillars were all congregated on the P. caerulea because all my other species of Passion Vine died back to the root crown. According to Plant Files info, P. caerulea is hardy to Zone 6a, so it may be one you can grow outdoors and have it return in the spring. P. caerulea seems to spread from aerial branches, but I haven't found it sending up sprouts from roots anywhere in the area where it is planted. It has taken about 3 years, but I now have a fairly lush covering of P. caerulea on a 10 ft tall x 8 ft wide trellis. It doesn't seem to bloom often, but I did get a few flowers from it around mid- February this year (which is the beginning of our :"springtime" and generally our last days for frost).
Jeremy
Holly,
I have a few incarnata plants grown from seed that came from Pennsylvania incarnatas. So, if your plant is local it may survive. But to be on the safe side I would bring it into a protected spot (say where it doesn't get below 25 degrees or so) for the winter. Older plants survive much better than first or second year plants, and bigger pots probably afford more protection than smaller ones. You should keep an eye on it so the soil doesn't totally dry out--than can kill it too. But you would water much less than in the summer. Good luck!
Mark
I have passiflora incense planted spring of this year - zone7b. In full sun, it's growing very well on an arbor and is 8' long. BUT NO FLOWERS !! Is this a first year thing or am I doing/not doing something. Thanks
Depending on how you've fertilized it previously, you could try some bloom enhancer fertilizer (high middle number). Sometimes they need to branch out a bit too, so you might try pruning the main trunk to encourage lateral shoots. Good luck!
Mark
Some of my passiflora vines took one or more years to flower, so it may be a maturity issue. My P. caerulea seems to have taken possibly two years to flower and only flowered a few times this spring, but has now grown to cover a 12 ft trellis. I don't have any problem with getting the P. 'incense' to flower, but then I have about 1/4 acre of it enshrouding everything! You might try rooting some cuttings from the growth tips of P. 'incense' and planting them in a bit more shade. Most of my P. 'incense' start out with roots in partial shade, then climb up mature oaks if they get a chance. Some of the rooted cuttings could be overwintered in pots in a warm, sunny spot as well, just in case your first year P. 'incense' doesn't survive the winter.
Jeremy
