I accidentally bought too many passiflora's for my small property. I'll definitely plant one in a sunny spot near a big tree of mine, but the others I'm contemplating growing in pots with trellis or other structures on which to climb. I'm looking for other ideas and photos to inspire me. What have you got for me?
=)
Designing with Passiflora
wrightie,
I grow all of my Passifloras in containers, generally 12" clay pots with a slightly modified large tomato cage as a trellis. It makes them easy to care for - you can turn them, trim them, keep winding them into themselves so they don't attach to other things, move them at your whim and, most importantly, easily bring them indoors for the winter. The biggest challenge is anchoring them against the wind.
Here are six of mine out in the front of my building. To the left is 'Lady Margaret', 'Blue Bouquet' and 'White Wedding', and on the right is 'Indigo Dreams', loefgrenii and 'Purple Haze'. It's aVERY overcast day here.
Erick
And here is P. edulis var. flavacarpa, same set-up.
Please make sure to post pictures!
Erick
Erick, is Lady Margaret easier to overwinter than brugs? :) I discovered passifloras last year, but didn't get to buy a few until this year, and Lady Margaret was at the very top of my list. There's nothing like being completely smitten with the plants you have, is there?
indiana_lily,
I find Passiflora 'Lady Margaret' MUCH easier to overwinter than Brugmansias. I just place mine near a bright window (south-facing, if possible) and it blooms year round for me. The only problem I ever encounter is the occasional spider mite or two. A few spray downs in the shower takes care of that problem.
Brugs, on the other hand, are more challenging. Not necessarily difficult, but the process is a bit dicey. The idea is to keep them in a semi-dormant state by regular, but light watering so they don't die, but you don't want them to grow much either. And spider mites LOVE them indoors.
P. 'Lady Margaret' remains one of my very favorite vines. I love the vibrant red flowers and the overall easy care of the plant. And you are right - there is nothing so fun as being completely smitten by one's plant collection!
Erick
Thanks much, Erick!
Good golly overwintering brugs (I managed to keep 30 alive, but killed more than I'd care to admit), by overwatering. Anyway.....
I can manage a south window and spray for spidermites! That's great to hear that Lady Margaret is easy to overwinter and still blooms!! Hmmm ..... maybe I can get more!! :)
You've done a great job with all that you have, and I enjoy seeing the pictures that you post.
Thank you for the kind comments indiana_lily. I heartly encourage you to explore Passifloras more. P. citrina is another one that blooms year round indoors for me (and isn't bothered by spider mites at all!), and I think P. 'Lavender Lady' might as well.
Congratulations on overwintering 30 Brugs! I think I finally have the overwintering part down. My big problem is rooting Brug cuttings. Despite INTENSE pampering, I only managed to root three of the 20+ I got one way or another last fall. The worst part was losing every single one of the double cuttings, e.g. 'Tiara', 'Adeline'. I'm hoping to give double cuttings another shot this fall so I can maybe have double blooms in my garden next summer.
Thank you again, and happy gardening!
Erick
Yikes, this is my first year with brug's myself. I'm playing the rooting game now myself. Funny little plants, those...
Oh, Erick I feel your pain about losing Adeline. I did too! :( And Tiara. I did manage to keep Day Dreams, HG, and some other doubles alive, though, and I ended up buying an Adeline because that one tore me apart. Ok, I bought another Tiara too.
Wrightie, I've hijacked your post with brug talk, I'm sorry. :( You have a good question though, about designing with passifloras, because that's something I'd like to learn about too.
Hijack - Shmijack! Who cares... I think it's fun to see how things meander.