Okay- my Passion Flower book by John Vanderplank finally arrived after being backordered for months- but I've managed to stop drooling over them long enough to find the passage about cuttings.
Paul had asked for seed, but aside from seed from the fruit, they don't mention how to gather/care for seed from the plant. Only that if you're using seed from a packet, you should buy passion fruit and mix the fresh seed and the pulp together with the packet seed and put all together in the compost for best results.
But that's not an issue- sounds like cuttings are easy! In brief- choose one of the 1,000 tendrils you have trying to overtake your house. Cut a peice off that is 3 leaves/leaf nodes long. Cut the tops off as well, making sure to mark which side was the top and which was the bottom, dip in "rooting powder" (??? I assume Superthrive would work here?), and there ya go!
yay! Let the trading begin...:)
below are direct quotes from his book:
Tip Cuttings-
The best and easiest type of cutting is the tip or end-shoot cutting. This should be removed with a sharp knife or secateurs, cutting closely below the node of the first of second mature leaf from the end shoot. During the summer, when growth is at its most vigorous, these shoots may be too long and tender, but there are generally lower shoots which will not be so elongated and will make better cutting material. If these are not to be found than an ordinary nodal cutting (see below) will have to suffice. Carefully remove the bottom leaf, tendril and flower stalk (if present) from the shoot and any other tendrils and flower buds from the cutting. Dip the end of the stem in rooting powder (choose oen recommended for softwood cuttings) and insert the cutting 2/5-3/5in deep into a pot (5 cuttings per 120mm pot) or dray (up to 60 cuttings in a standard sized seed tray).
Nodal cuttings-
These are virtually the same as end-shoot cuttings but without the growing shoot and should be taken in exactly the same way, two or three leaves long with the bottom leaf and tendril removed. The advantage here is that you can take numerous cuttings from one long shoot. It is usual to cut the base of a cutting with a right angles cut just below the node, and the top of the cutting with a sloping cut 1-4mm above the leaf axil bud. The reason for this may become very apparent if many cuttngs are taken in a single batch0 passion flowers hang down as well as growing upwards and it can become very difficult to decide which way up they shoudl be. A young student who worked for us some years ago planted a complete batch of cuttings upside down and it was some weeks before I realized why they were so reluctant to root. The prepared cuttings should be treated with rooting powder and inserted into pots or trays.
Passiflora sharing...very dangerous news!
Wow thank for sharing the info Tess!
Ah hem... just to get the bidding started, I have these which are blooming away nicely:
Lady Margaret
Inspiration
Elizabeth
Crimson
And these which are growing nicely, but haven't bloomed yet:
Ruby Glow
Clear Sky
Crimson Tears (the other crimson is a real red, very close to Lady M- this one is supposed to be more of a deep purplish red)
Anything in particular you are wanting to trade for, Tess?
I've got a decent variety of seeds (foxglove, purple coneflower, yellow and pink snapdragon, white hibiscus, baby's breath, red poppy, and more that I can't remember off the top of my head), and will have an "unknown" pink brug cutting this fall.
I'm kinda looking for a Lady Margaret.
I have a couple of native ones Passiflora mexicanan and passiflora Foetida.
I also have this one but no longer have the name tag.
I have seeds of a. watsonii, stuart's desert pea and m. disecta. I would also be willing to pay for some rooted cuttings if you are interested.
Tess whatwould you want for a Lady Margert and Crimson tears? i grow a lot of diff Cannas also i have water lillys and spme rooted Brug Cuttings and lots of diff seeds LMKP. Paul
Ok now you have started it Tess!!! where are you hiding!!!!
Looks around to see where Tess is hideing QQ
Tess can i ask how much you payed for the book? Paul
lol...I just start trouble and then run off, pretending I had nooooothing to do with it....
Sorry, they're making me work today...if playing with tiaras and feather wings can be considered work...lol
Book wasn't cheap, but seems worth it- $24 from Amazon. It's got tons of pics, though, and lots of info- I'll give you a fuller idea when I get into it, as the book only arrived this morning.
As for what I'd want to do in trade...I'd love a Constance Elliot- everyone was sold out this spring. Plus there are several I've never heard of that my jaw hit the floor when I saw them just flipping through the book...lol
All my Moonflowers died, if anybody has an actual, growing plant, I'd like to give it another shot...I think the killer was my cats deciding the whole world is their litterbox.
What color brugs do you have, Paul? I've got a largish white of unknown heritage and a Butterfly, but I'd love something really bright, if you've got something like that.
But otherwise, I'm kinda outta room. I mean, I'd always find room for another trop hibiscus- I should be in some sort of 12 step program- but now my yard is very Darwinian...I've gotta wait and see what dies back before I add anything else...lol...
Marie, I haven't actually done the rooting thing myself.
I'll give it a shot for ya, and see what happens...or I can send cuttings for postage and you can do it. I'm pretty sure I can spare it...lol...the photo shows about 40 feet of fence that I'm just letting the passies take over.
Once they fill in, it should be pretty, but for now it looks a little odd...and we won't even talk about the overgrown grass...;)
I wish my yard looked that green!!! I going to try and root a cutting from my native passiflora. If I succeed then I will ask you for some cuttings. So far I have had no luck at all.
I can pick you up a constance elliot if I get to Tucson soon. (I just bought one but it is not doing much since I planted it in this eternal furnace blast)
Tess i Have Charles Grinalb its a orange big cutings allready rooted and i have frosty pink all ready rooted but not as big Paul
Tess, odd? heck I should only wish my fence looked odd like that. a great work in progress.
tess I have Constance elliot rooted in the bench now. D mail me.
I'm interested in Lady Margaret and Ruby Glow
I have cuttings of Sunburst....may have some rooted
some others too
not a great picture
