I bought seeds of 5 different passionflower species. They are Passiflora trifasciata, P. cuprea, P. maliformis, P. 'Cordelia', and P. rubra. I soaked them for a few days as I did with my P. edulis (which is growing and very healthy!), and put them in my little propogator about a month ago. The soil has never dried out, but I don't know if any of them are going to sprout! It seems like its been forever. Has anyone had any success with these species? Any advice??
Trying to grow more passionflowers from seed....
You might try gently digging up a couple of each to see if any germination has occurrred. If not, I'd nick the seed coats along one edge with an exacto knife, using a new blade. Just shave off enough so that you can see the white endosperm.
Good luck!
Mark
This message was edited Apr 10, 2007 9:08 PM
I am going to try this this weekend if the rest of mine dont come up... I have 3 up out of about 20 of one kind and not a one out of the other ...I planted on 1-17-07 how soon do I believe that they are not coming up? I am happy for the 3 for I never had that much come up before...soooo... One is Grenadilla giants, that is the one I have 3 of and the other is mollissima and none of those have poped...LOL
Susan
Susan,
The rule of thumb with passifloras is to keep waiting. They can sometimes take months! The seed coats of many species are very tough, and they need to absorb enough water to soften. If your seed starting mix is too coarse, it might not allow enough water to make its way to the seed. Seeds can also be started on wet paper towels inside a plastic bag or covered container. Here is a good link on starting passifloras from seed:
http://www.passionflow.co.uk/seed1.htm
Myles doesn't believe in nicking the seed coats, but my theory is that when wild animals eat passion fruits, they bite the seeds and crack the seed coats.
Good luck!
Mark
Here's another link that I came across. It suggests damaging the seed coat and alternating the temperature every 12 hours.
http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/HTMLPublications/52/ch40.htm
Mark
Mark,
Thank you for the links... Tonight I feel trying to get to the seeds on the heat mat... Well I had them in a glass pyrex long roaster and needless to say I have a few less now and need a few stiches in my hand.... Was to late to go to hospital and wait 4 hours for about 6 or so stiches... I just cleaned really well and put meds on it and when it dryed and stopped bleeding I superglued it... It works...LOL I would not tell just anybody to do this... I have worked with a vet for the past 14 years and we have used before on animals.. they do in humans also.. So that said I did find a few of the seeds... two more were starting to sprout... so I just put them as is in a peat pot still inside the little one they were in... I am also now soaking the others I found maybe about 8 ... I will look again tomorrow after work for some more... have to be careful of the glass mixed in.... I dont mean to sound stupid but what do they mean by nick them??? Where would I do this at the bottom or the sides??? Do I use a knife? Sorry for the questions but if you don't know you ask....
Well I am off to bed again..LOL Also thank you very much again...
Susan
Hi Susan,
Sorry to hear about your accident--hopefully your hand will heal quickly. You can use tweezers or needle nose pliers to hold the seed, and either scrape it on some fine sand paper or use an exacto knife to shave off some of the seed coat (just keep your fingers away from the business end of the blade!). You should sand or shave along one of the longer edges of the seed until you see a little white showing.
Good luck!
Mark
I grow all my seedlings in straight Vermiculite In a Bagie With bottom heat heres a pic of some nine day old seedlings of Lady Margret i all so soak my seeds over night Paul
This message was edited Apr 12, 2007 9:47 PM
I have perlite here but can go and get Vermiculite at lowes... I have them soaking and they are went to the bottom so that is good I am told... I am going to nick them and then plant somehow either the way you did above or in peat pots..
Do you grow these inside ??? I have one in the ground outside that dies back every winter the comes up again... that one does not get fruit but I wanted one that got fruit..LOL Is That Vermiculite in the pot above? Are they had to seperate and do they mind when you do? I am really thankful for all the help everyone has been given...
My fall or feel as I put in last post LOL I am doing ok.. body brusied but hand is still glued together and doing really well..
Susan
yes but dont use peat pots they dry out to fast
These are very big peats with like cardboard when wet... so what should I plant in just a plastic pot?
Susan
i use foam coffee cups
I read something interesting. Someone used a pin to prick the seeds and they came right up!
Lou heres the Lady Margets
Hello:I used the parks bio-dome with grow light and heat mat and my passiflora incarta seeds took about a month or month in a half to sprout.Patience is the key with passiflora seeds.Karla
I soaked the seeds in tepid water for 3 days before placing in the bio-dome.
Susan,
A couple of weeks ago I got the book "Passiflora-Passion Flowers of the World" by Ulmer and MacDougal (its a good book by the way!). I've been making my way through it, and I just read something interesting about P. mollissima. It said that research in Brazil found that seeds that were a few months old germinated poorly if at all, while those that were a year old germinated without problems. Maybe the seedcoats contain a germination inhibitor that gradually leaches out or breaks down over time. So you might contact your seed supplier, and see if they can tell you how old the seeds are.
Mark
Susan,
I concur with Mark that "Passiflora-Passion Flowers of the World" by Ulmer and MacDougal is well worth picking up. I got it off Amazon.com a few months ago for less than $20 (including shipping!) and have been looking at it almost daily ever since. The pictures alone will have you drooling within minutes....
In spite of my best efforts and literally hundreds of attempts, I have a poor record of growing Passifloras from seed. It seems, overall, that patience is the key. They can take months to germinate. You may find that it's more worth your time and money to pick up rooted cuttings or small plants. They are almost guaranteed to do well for you, unless you let them dry out horribly or spider mites take up residence.
All the best to you.
Erick
Well I have gotten 3 of the mollissima to come up so far, the grenadilla's have done nothing yet... I am very happy with the 3 so far... The only time I have seen passiflora here I paid almost 35 dollars for the vine and it does do well but it does not bear fruit and I wanted to just give this a try... I am broke this week so I will go to Amazon and book make that book and will also get it....
Thank you all so much for your help..
SUsan
OK, I read the entire thread, and I still have a question:
I see that peat pots dry out too quickly, but what about peat pelletts? I have a little mini greenhouse that I can put them in and bottom heat easily. Would that be OK?
Ive Had Great Luck growing Passion flowers from seeds what i belive the secret is to use Fresh Seeds Paul
Peat pellets dry out also and they aren't really big enough for the vines to grow well. The styrofoam cup works much better.