HELP! Needed with Passion Vine Pruning ....

I have had these babies in the ground for about a year now and good grief are they going crazy!!! I want to prune them back some. What is a safe pruning amount for this vine? 1/3, 1/2 ....???? I know that the flowers show up on new growth, but am not going to cry if I don't get flowers this year. (I've actually already had some.)

I know many of you have had them in your gardens for years. I'd appreciate any suggestions and info on pruning my Passion Vine. Thank you!

I'm off to the store to do my weekly shopping and will be back later to read all the other threads! Tootles!

Wow, that vine looks great!!! I wish I had some advice for pruning, but I don't. Mine completely died back for the winter, and is just NOW showing a tiny touch of life. I actually thought it was dead and was going to yank the poor old thing outta the ground. Hope you find your answer. I'm curious

The one i had, i used to cut it back nearly to the floor

Pruning is best done during winter months, when the plant is not actively growing. All dead and weak growth should be trimmed back to healthy stems leaving several nodes each to promote vigorous growth in the spring; strong stems should be cut back by at least one third. As passion flower is susceptible to some viral diseases, shears should be thoroughly disinfected before and after pruning. If your vine is overwintered outdoors it will usually die back to the roots. If any top growth remains, you can trim it to 8" to 12" from the soil. Clean off all dead growth from last year. Most passion vine in upper zone 8 and north will die down to the ground. Then resprout from the roots in the spring. In lower and protected areas of zone 8 and south, plants may stay evergreen - in which case plants can get very large. In these cases, occasional pruning will need to be done if you need to keep the plants in bounds.

This message was edited Apr 1, 2007 12:39 AM

Wow!! Mine died back too and only has a few leaves, I am jealous!

Mark - Thanks for the info. I am going to whack away!

Piggypoo and Karen - Since I didn't really have any freezing temps this past winter, pretty much everything in my yard just kept on growing and growing and growing. To the point that it is no longer a delight to see. It is instead an overgrown mess! :-( Sometimes it is an advantage to have plants die back to the ground every winter.... trust me!

Those vines need to be cleaned up and tamed ...... pronto!

Its not good for plants to keep on growing and growing............... they need to die back to rest and build their energy!!!!

Yeah get whacking away Becky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We only have one or two passion flower vines that are hardy here, but at least i get mine to grow some fruit, although its not edible.........

Becky,

Yes, you can cut it back. One of mine was taking over the yard so I cut it back after winter...to about 2 feet tall. The truck is about 3 inches in diameter and most of the branches I cut were about 1" thick. The fritillaries do not use it - so if it didn't recover it would be no great loss...but it grew back in full force and is now bushier! Can't remember what species it is...blooms kind of a whitish purple....perhaps caercula (sp?).

You can also try making cutting by air or ground layering and trading them away once roots form or just offer up the cuttings for trade. You might get some takers. :o)

~ Cat

Cat and Mark - Thanks for the encouragement to whack away!

Cat - I bet the one PV that is the largest in my yard right now is the same as yours! Though I do occasionally find chewed holes in the leaves, but most of the GFs and Zebra Longwings like the Maypop vines I have on growing on several fence sections right next to that one and they are pretty big vines as well. I float the flowers in my water container gardens. Looks really pretty. Or you can float them in a wide bowl on your dining room table or outdoor patio table. Very pretty to look at!

I may try my hand at trying to root some cuttings. Never done that before. Would be a good learning experience for me as well. Thanks for that suggestion!!! :-)

The butterflies have eaten my passifloras back to nothing. They were beginning to recuperate and then the butterfly eggs started coming again. I think I am going to try to plant a couple of new passifloras where these have been. Not so much for the novelty as to get some leaves for the butterflies this Spring. I didn't know that Gulf Fritillaries bred all year long until this year.

Take care,

Chuck

Chuck - Sheesh .... send them here until yours gets growing good! LOL! I've had the same problem with milkweed in the past. Poor plants just barely get going and the butterflies come along and lay eggs. The cats eat them to the nubs! Do what I did ..... I planted a total of 12, yes 12 passion vines in my backyard! LOL! They've yet to eat all of them to the ground!

Well, here is the pile after I whacked away at 2 of the vines. Wish they would last long enough for me to send them to you, Chuck! :-) It filled up a contractor trash bag and weighed a LOT!!! It took me over an hour to prune these 2 vines back. It was a tangled mess on the fence and trellis!!!!

And here is what the two vines look like after I whacked them down! I didn't even know that I didn't have a trellis for the one on the left to cling to! Now I can add another trellis for it since I can see the fence! LOL!

I have 4 more vines to whack back. But I may wait. It's very weird. I have seen very few GF or Zebra Longwings around them lately. I wonder what's going on?

Mark and Cat - Did I do alright with the pruning?

Becky...................... Thats much better.............!!
You did a very good job there.

Thanks for the affirmation, Mark!

Can I do the same whacking to my Mexican Flame Vine?

I let the GFs trim my PV, lol.. Already about 12 fat cats on there now.. I am hoping I can keep up with them this year.. Do take cuttings Becky.. The tender tips will root real fast. CLip them under the 3rd joint, remove the tendril and leaves on the end, and dip in Rooting compound, then stick 1" deep into a small narrow pot of 2" fine soil. (Jiffy Mix is great, and ultra fine!!) They will also root in water bottles.
I use these starter thingys I got at Walgreen's fo a $1.25. 2- 6 cell planters that fit into another shell for bottom watering.

Vines can usually be cut back as much as a third without doing any harm. Some (like PV and your Flame Vine, can take way more.. Like Mark said, he can cut his all the way without concern.

Deb

Becky, Does your milkweed just attract Monarchs or does it attract other kinds of butterflies as well? I have three butterfly weed plants. All except for these three asclepias fasciculatum (sp?) have died off. I can' t keep the orange butterfly weeds alive for more than just a few months.

Why do they call them 'milkweeds'?

When I was a boy, growing up in rural San Fernando Valley, we used to have large numbers of monarchs come through our area. I guess times have changed.

Thanks,

Chuck

Deb - Sooooo nice to see you posting here! LOL Thanks for the info on rooting Passion Vine cuttings. I have 3 cuttings in a vase with water currently. I have 4 more plants to prune .... rather whack away at. So I may get some more cuttings.

Does anyone ever notice if the GF population comes and goes? I have not seen a single G.F. in over a week. And I have TONS of leaves and vines currently. I am kind of concerned. I did see a wasp nest on the fence behind all the Passion Vine I cut back yesterday. It will be history soon! I am hoping my neighbor didn't have her lawn guy spray my vines with pesticide. I don't think so. My fence is 3' in on my property. And I also cut all the vines off of the outside of the fence because I think it worries her that it might creep into her yard. I'm trying to be a nice neighbor.

Chuck - I see Queen butterflies on my milkweed too. But that is usually in the summer, not at this time. And quite a few butterflies of many different species drink the nectar from the little yellow-red flowers. So I find it to be a very useful plant in my yard for more than just the Monarchs! :-) Is your butterfly weed dying or being eaten down by caterpillars?

They are called Milkweed because if you cut a stem or leaf it bleeds a milky white substance. Which can cause a skin irritation in some people and animals. And is considered mildly poisonous.

I think with the destruction of the forests and native habitats in North and South America due to progress and development, has changed the natural environment which directly affects the wildlife. Which is probably why you don't see the Monarchs like you did years ago. Sad, but true.

This message was edited Apr 2, 2007 10:09 PM