Look at the bud! Received this ebay plant today and I'm thrilled. Its 2' long and has this bud. I realize the bud will probably not open because of the stress of shipping, but how I wish it would! Can these be grown without a trellis? Allowed to just trail? Or maybe just wrap the vine around the pot? It will be a houseplant. I don't even put my plants out in spring because its way too dry here, with a scorching sun.
Seaecho,
That may actually be a bud that's already opened. It would be better/easier to see the blooms if you can give it something to climb. Blue Eyed Susan can get quite large. Once it's settled, you'll need to step it up to a larger pot. Give it the brightest position you can considering your climate. Warm days/cool nights really get the Passi's going.
Yep, that one opened already. MJ is right--Blue Eyed Susan is quite vigorous. One of its parents is P. edulis, which is a large vine itself. Passies are tendril climbing vines, and although they will sprawl on the ground in the wild, that won't work indoors. I'd try to find one of those vine tower thingies for it--one that will fit just inside of a pot. Then you can wrap the shoots around the tower as needed. I'd use a 14 inch diameter pot--that might sound large, but trust me its not. A couple of years ago, my Blue Eyed Susan climbed right up to the top of the 8 foot wall on the side of the house, and then sent laterals along the gutters. Other shoots continued to climb vertically for another 2 feet or so, until it got so top heavy that it toppled over in a strong thunderstorm. It put out a lot of nice blooms, including this double (see below). This is one of my favorite passies!
Mark
Wow, good advice from both of you-thanks! The moment I saw a Blue Eyed Susan passie, I was fascinated, and started resesarching them, and it sounded like everything I was looking for. I had ruled out Incense, Inspiration and Blue Bouquet for varying reasons. Blue Eyed Susan seemed to be the closest to what I wanted. And I had looked at LOTS of passies. This one I had to have. The size did intimidate me a bit, though, lol. If I keep it in, say, an 8" pot, does that mean it won't bloom? 14" sounds so huge, and my space is at a premium since I have over 150 plants indoors. Would a smaller pot cause it not to grow as long? I don't want to sacrifice blooms, though.
Mark, your blooms are just gorgeous! Well, I feel a bit better knowing the bloom has already opened. Maybe this means it will be getting more blooms soon? Well, off to try to find something that it can climb that will fit in the pot. Thanks!
That's a pretty one!
