There are two very large, well-established passiflora caerulea vines in my backyard, growing along two sides of the fence. As far as I can tell, all of the leaves on those are dark green, 5-lobed leaves, which I understand is standard for caerulea. However, there are a lot of little baby vines popping up in the yard near the fence, and they look similar to the passiflora, but they have different leaves, with anywhere from 1-5 lobes. A single vine might have 3 or 4 different types of leaves on it, so it's not that they're all just different types of plants. Also, some of them are lighter green, although the leaves have the same general shape as the darker green ones. What's going on here? I'd really appreciate if someone could explain this to me. It's perplexing, to say the least.
What's going on with my p. caerulea?
Sounds like runners have sprouted and the leaves are juvenile leaves.
Thanks for your reply. I'm a little confused about what you mean by "juvenile leaves" though. The new leaves on the established plants look just like the older leaves, only smaller. You mean the leaves of a younger plant will be different? I should pot up some of the runners and see what happens. (If I don't transplant them they'll get mowed next time I do the lawn.)
I've noticed that on my potted P. caerulea. The small plants that emerge from runners have very different shaped leaves than the parent plant and tend to be lighter. I assume that, if I pot them up separately, they would eventually have adult leaves that look just like the parent.
Erick
Thanks, Erick. I'll go ahead and pot up a couple of them and see if they do end up looking like the main plant.
Yes, that's the way they do. Keep the potted runners watered well till they get established.
My passiflora's do the same thing, many different kinds. Many will begin with 1 or 3 lobes then when it gets a little older it starts growing nothing but the full 5 bladed leaves. They freaked me out when I first began growing them too;)
JD
BDunn - Thanks, I'll keep them watered.
JD - Thanks. But I can't exactly say I'm growing them - the big plants came with the house, and the runners are just popping up everywhere with no help from me. :)