I just planted a passion vine (about 2 wks. ago) next to the side door "platform," (it's basically a small porch that comes off a door in the kitchen, with three steps down to a small wooden platform/deck) that has wooden fencing bounding it in. I love passion vines, and decided to plant one there, since the vine wouldn't be growing next to any beds that it could invade... I have pretty heavy clay soil, moderately acidic, but I tried to break it up a bit before planting the vine. It immediately started climbing up the fence, but I've been having to water it nearly every day, which I thought seemed a little odd (I thought passions didn't need that much watering?)... the new growth is coming out well, but the base of the vine (near the ground) doesn't look too hot - one of the shoots looks like it's going brown, despite my diligent watering! Could something else be going on here? Thanks!!
passion vine looks a little sketchy
Perhaps you are OVER-watering and using city water. Neither of these is to the plants liking. I would let it dry out and maybe only water every couple of days and catch some rain water in a bucket. You could dilute the city water with rain water, half and half, and see if that helps.
kc adams:
what kind of passion vine do you have? someone gave me a crimson passion vine but i've not put it in the ground yet...leary about the growth potential???
I also planted one about 2 weeks ago in a small side bed to run up a trellis. I've been watering about 3x per week (except for the rain this weekend!) and have it planted behind ruellia. The base of the plant looks healthy and that might be because of the protection the ruellia is providing it. I've had about 8 blooms so far and it was a rather small plant when I purchased it. We're in the same zone. Is yours getting full or filtered sun?
How large is the plant? Those like you buy at Walmart in the 2 or 3 gallon pots are usually pretty rootbound and need watered everyday, especially if they are growing in full sun.
When we lived in TN, I grew passion vines in 12" hanging baskets. They quickly filled the basket with roots and had lush tops. They needed watered every day in summer. I used city water, it never bothered them.
I had to look it up in the plant files, but the variety I bought is called "Insence" - I got it from Buchanan's in the Heights... it wasn't very large - maybe 2 gal, but could've been 1 gal as well... I can't remember now!
I planted this vine 2 wks. ago, and have not had any blooms yet... hmm...
The thought occurred to me that I could be overwatering, but I even with all that watering, the leaves/vine was looking mighty wilted every late afternoon! My instincts usually tell me to water when I see a plant looking like that, but maybe that's incorrect?
Well, we've had nothing short of a torential downpour for a few days now (flooded out of work today, woo-hoo!), so my plants are getting plenty of rainwater, if city water could be the problem... I will put out a couple of buckets to catch some of the rain that we're still in store for this evening!
Kelly
kc...is there any sun protection at the base of the plant at all, i.e. is there something planted in front of it? What direction does it face? Mine is facing NE on the trellis, is receiving morning sun and some afternoon "filtered sun" and is doing quite well. These things want to GROW and needs lots of room to spread their roots. They need to be deeply watered at least twice a week, much more if in full sun and if not allowed enough room to grow. Also, loosening the root system before planting encourages spread so if they've been in a pot a little too long, mush the roots up a bit. Honestly, down here, they're pretty hardy and can grow on their own without much help. City water or rain water....doesn't seem to matter, just as long as they get enough. If planted in the right spot and in good soil you don't even need to fertilize (although I use a little Ozmocote granules around anything I plant). These are hardy little devils and you have to be careful because if they're planted in a spot that makes them happy, they become very invasive! So be careful. But the blooms are just so pretty not to have them. Look like little martian flowers to me. The kiddos love them!
BTW.....I would definitely fertilize if growing in a pot and do plan to repot often, cutting 1/3 of the roots off and placing in new soil.
The vine is growing on a portion of chain link fence that I'm using as a trellis, facing N, NW - the chain link piece is laying up against the wooden, "fenced in" side door "platform," fencing there facing more NW (the vine needs to round a corner). I'm thinking I may need to lay some lattice against the wooden fencing, as the pillars seem too thick for the vine to wrap it's "tentacles" around on it's own. It gets a good amount of strong, somewhat filtered sun - the further it gets from the side of the house, the sunnier the space is... there's nothing else planted in front of it... I'm concerned that maybe I didn't break up the ground enough before planting - my clay is pretty tough here! At this point, though, after 2.5 wks. in the ground, is it wise for me to dig it up and rework the soil again? Would that shock the plant too much?
FYI - I think I'm seeing some flower buds (3 so far) beginning to form, so that's a good sign! What do you think about digging the guy up and doing some more work on the soil (maybe add some sand for better drainage?) ??
Ooooh, I'd be scared it would go into severe shock right now if you dug it up. Maybe dig the soil around it and mix in some good soil and sand and a little fertilizer. And yes, I think the buds are an excellent sign!
Got it... I figured that digging it up now would be a bad idea... I'll definitely get some sand (I'm realizing this will likely be a "must have" soil amendment for me here!) - what kind of fertilizer are you using for this? Ozmocote?
Yes Ozmacote. I also plan to Miracle Grow it after all this rain goes away (if ever!).