I'm growing passies for the first time from seed. I have a large trellis next to the seedling, but the plant is a long way from reaching it. Should I put something small in the pot next to the seedling for it to climb on?
How soon soon will passion vines need a trellis to grow on?
passiflora07,
Your set-up for your Passiflora looks great. Before you know it, it will reach for the trellis and start climbing it. There's no need to give it a smaller trellis now. This summer it will completely cover that trellis and a lot more, and will hopefully reward you with many blooms!
Good luck to you.
Erick
This message was edited Feb 26, 2007 10:33 PM
What kind is it and how long did it take to germinate? I just planted some seeds today.
Gives me hope for the seeds someone from MN just "loaned me". (And his first name is Erick...hehe) Send us more photos as it grows.
I've grown a few different passifloras from seed, and most of them flowered in their second year. It just depends which species it is. It won't be long before it outgrows both the pot and the trellis.
Its P. edulis, and it took about 3 weeks to germinate. I'll post more pictures as it grows. You really think it will outgrow the pot? Its a HUGE pot! How would I repot it once its that big? If I don't repot will the plant die??
Thanks so much for the input, everyone!
Actually, I think P. edulis does flower in the first year and bear fruit as well. Passifloras eventually get to be big vines. You'll know when it is rootbound when the soil dries out very fast. I usually start pots of vines out on a brick or a lift of some sort so that, when I repot, I can go to a bigger pot without moving the vine if the vine is growing on a stationary object. If the vine is growing on your movable trellis, you'll just need to lift the trellis at the same time as you lift the rootball to transfer to a bigger container, already partially filled with soil. It is helpful to have a second person there to help, but I've done it by myself. It seems to me that P. edulis isn't as aggressive a grower as some of the others so you should be okay for a year or two. Mark would know better than I would. It has been a few years since I grew P. edulis.
Passiflora07,
When you see little tendrils starting to grow that's when you need the trellis. I sometimes tie a piece of yarn or string to the trellis, and then wrap the string around the tendril. Then the vine can climb up the string to the trellis. You'll likely have some tendrils that aren't optimally placed for reaching the trellis. But a piece of string will solve that problem.
Mark
Good string idea, Mark. I will keep an eye out for tendrils. Thanks for the tip!