I have your basic red passion flower and mini citrina and then thanks to callalily have Sanquienta and Foetida Pink. They have really gotten a bit out of control and the reds look rather ratty. Can I simply cut these all back? I'm not a very good pruner and never know exactly where to cut to get the best results. We need a pruning seminar online!! I just need to cut these fellows and am wondering where to clip. also I guess I can root the cuttings as well. We just went through (tonight included) a VERY unusual cold spell. Was 35 out here on my island...which is VERY rare! I covered everything and I think all is well. A few days will tell the whole tale. Any advice greatly appreciated!
passiflora...passionflower vines
Hi Dale,
Got your email, been busy, have had the time to reply. Anyway, I'll answer it here.
Where are they growing? Anywhere close to a fence or a structure that you can cover them up? Are they growing in pots?
Last year I moved mine (citrina, sanguiolenta, and any in small pots) to an area close to the fence on the southside of the house. I covered them with plastic, drape it like a make shift greenhouse. They were happy, no heat provided. The only parts got damaged were the tips touching the plastic, so make sure you have enough space between the cover and the plants.
I covered the red (vitifolia) and all the large ones in ground, only when the temp falls below 40. I didn't trim them, the leaves offer protection, also help support the cover.
If you want to trim, be sure to trim not too low. Keep some leaves on the vines. Some species (racemosa) will die if you trim to bare vines.
They are in pots. They all survived the cold nights and so it's downhill from here! They have just gottne very ratty and I wanted to basically "start over" in training them. The citrinas I have growing around homemade round copper shapes stuck in the pots. But there are bare spots now where leaves have thinned. Another question is this...when you are training passifloras and they reach the maximun height of the support, should one just trim as they grow taller? And with a round support, is it alright to tain them down after they have reached the top of the circle to get coverage? Or is it better to plant two plants that will eventually meet at the top? My main concern now is making them look healthy and neat, so I need advice about trimming...where? so they will sprout new growth etc. I have heard of people cutting the common red almost back to the ground and it coming back, but from what you say, this is not wise. What makes them get browned leaf edges and start to look so unkempt? They are healthy so it is not being caused by pests or a disease.
Dale,
Heat, wind, sun, all of the above will make the leaves dry up and fall off. Lower leaves sometime do not get sufficient amount of light compared to the ones higher up. Give them a dose of high nitro fert. and iron, not too much, you will end up with growth and no flowers.
When I trim, I normally trim to keep them under control. That means I do not trim them down to ground level. I have done that to a few I transplanted from Louisa's garden this past fall, to keep them inside the house. Depends on the height of the vine, I take as much as half off. Once new growth appears I would trim again to force them to sprout lower, and keep repeating the process until I have branches about 1-2 feet off the ground. Then I would start the cycle again, but only on half of a plant at one time, the other half set flowers.
Do keep in mind that only new growth flowers. Everytime you trim you will have to wait awhile for buds to form.