Help!! Running out of passion vine

I am seriously running out of passion vine for my GF cats. I have already bought a second plant and they have eaten that up also. The first plant has some new leaves on it but when I bring them in they wilt immediately and are inedible. Should I just break down and buy another plant? I am not sure if anyone could send me some if it would get here in time. I hope I am not making assumptions but have heard of folks sending certain plants a person's way when they are running out. I have five cats that look like they are ready to pupate but still have a couple of little guys in there. Not sure what to do here. I don't think they will eat anything else will they? I know it never hurts to have another passion vine in the yard but goodness, that will make three for me. I guess I just need some reassurance and advice and what someone else would do in this situation. I really hope I am not starting to be a pain here with all my questions on the same set of cats. These guys are making me a nervous wreck. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks so much.

Leslie

Oh Leslie, I wish I could help. My Passies (2) are in partial shade and not all that full. It could be why I haven't had any eggs or cats.

I would go buy another if you can. That is the challenge, how to keep up with all the cats. Maybe somehow put netting around the ones that are eaten up so they can come back without cats, and you won't have to keep buying it.

You're not being a pain, just indecisive. I've been in the same situation with milkweed.

Hmmm...I don't know...3 passion vines is a lot! Next year you'll have plenty of vine and more coming up in other places just from one plant. I can't imagine how many runners would come up from 3! It's hard to decide what to do when you are sitting there watching them like your own babies. Maybe another gardener close to you could adopt them? If you haven't already, try posting on the Texas forum.

Where do you get your plants? A local nursery or a big one like Wal-mart? You could always take the babies to the plants and just leave them on the vines. That way they have food and you aren't responsible. I know there are things that could happen to them but it's also a lot of work and frustration trying to keep them from starving.

I've got a huge vine and no cats. Well, I have cats but they usually get eaten before they eat much or I can find them. I'm running out the door so I can't send any today but I could try and send some tomorrow. ?

Leslie, do you live close to some park or wild area where there might be wild passion vine? I do that, I go to the local wild areas and pick leaves from the vines. I take a baggie with a little water in it and put the leaves in there, then I put them in the fridge, and they last about a week. Of course i have the cats in cages. Or maybe someone you know has passion vine and can give you a few leaves.
Josephine.

As always you are there to help flygirl. I had already decided to buy another plant after work. I don't know what else to do. Can you have too many of these plants? I don't think it will be too invasive where I live cuz it is hard to get anything to grow really. It just kills me because I have 5 cats that are the right size to pupate and they will not do it. I would probably have enough for the couple of little ones left but they are stubborn about it. So I guess I will be buying another plant. I will keep yall posted with what happens. I just pray momma does not find the new plant before it gets eaten. LOl.

Leslie

Honestly Josephine I have never seen a passion vine anywhere I have ever been in this town. I was really surprised when I asked for it at the nursery and they had one to buy. And I really do not think it grows wild here, as I said in above post, not much can grow wild here except cactus. LOL.

Leslie

I just thought of something. Assuming the garden center has another plant I will just buy it, use the leaves I need until I do not need anymore and give the plant to my mom. I won't plant it in the ground, just leave it in the pot because I really don't think I have that much longer to go with the cats and then give the plant to mom. She would love a plant like that and then see how she takes care of her BF's next year. LOL. Thanks for everyone's help. Now just pray for me that they still have a plant or two left.

Leslie

Sounds like a good plan Leslie! I hope you find one.

If you don't I could try and send you some pieces. Maybe if Paige and I and maybe some others sent you some, would it get you through?

Let us know,
Rox

Hey Rox, now I know your real name and Konkreteblond is Paige, right? Great.

I got the plant. Got a little worried there as it was the last one but it has a lot of leaves on it. Will be a good "feeder" plant which is about what all of mine have become. LOL. So I will use it until I am finished and give the plant to mom. She will love it and then I won't have to worry about too many passionflower plants. It is funny, some man at the nursery who was there shopping saw the plant in my basket and felt the need to inform me they will go crazy in your yard and take over everything. I told him to the best of my memory nothing has ever taken over in my yard, not grass or anything. But I will definitely keep a watch on the two plants I have come next year. This year I know they will not be a problem as they only have about three leaves apiece.

Thank yall so much for offering to send me some of the plant. You guys are really too sweet. Luckily everything worked out okay. And if I give the plant to my mom I don't have the danger of having any more of these cats anytime soon. I think I need a breather before this happens to me again. Not that I regret it or would change anything except a better success rate.

Thanks again girls, I truly appreciate it.

Leslie

Glad you figured out what you could do. I went out tonight to look at the stray vines and ended up finding eggs. I've got both Gulf and Variegated Frits! I find munched on places but never any cats. All I find are a million ants and tiny little spiders. Bad spiders!

Good for you paige. I really never did notice the eggs, just the cats even though they were pretty small. I had ants on mine also, no spiders thank goodness. Good luck with your frits and have fun.

Leslie

Too many passionvines? Never. LOL I used to have 3 on a trellis and then found out about the many different kinds so I currently have 10 in the ground, 1 in the pot it came in that I travel with, I am growing 6 in little pots from seedlings, expecting 4-5 cuttings in the mail as well as 3 new plants that I bought. All different species and none that will take over my yard with suckers. Even if a sucker did show up, i could pull it up and trade with a passi buddy of mine :)

Flutter

Okay Flutter, you don't have any problem with them being invasive. Why do some people warn against them being very invasive? Are there certain species that are and some aren't? And you say none of them will take over your yard, is that because of the kinds you have? I am just curious, as I have said before the conditions here are such that things usually do not take over much of anything but I was a little fearful when someone mentioned that they could take over. I would love to have a whole fence covered in the things they are so gorgeous. But I do not want trouble with them taking over the whole yard. Can you help me on this one please? Thanks so much.

Leslie

Leslie,
Speaking to your shortage on PV for your Gulf Frits, if you put those you say are larger in a container with one leaf, when it is gone they will start to pupate. That way you can may have enough to finish raising the smaller ones. Just a thought.
Sheila_FW

Hey Paige, I want some varigated GFs too! :-(( Send some north with directions to my house. LOL!

This message was edited Aug 29, 2007 9:51 PM

I thought I had read that somewhere Sheila, that if they run out of food they will pupate sooner. I may have to try that because these guys are just in no hurry at all and I know they are big enough. Thanks for the great tip.

Leslie

Are all of you putting your Passies in the ground? I've kept mine in pots because I don't want them to take over, but it could be why they aren't full and attracting bfs.

Maybe that's why my polydamas cat wouldn't become a butterfly! I fed him too well! Oh, and send some of those variegated Frits across the gulf; I want them too.

As for invasiveness...first off, I tend to think native plants have a rightful place in my yard. Don't you think the trees consider us to be invasive pests? I've heard people say the p. incarnata can be aggressive, but I can't imagine anything being worse than true invasives like skunk vine and air potato. I wonder if it doesn't get a bad rap because "normal" people (i.e. non-gardeners) plant it and then let it go, don't maintain it or prune it, then get upset when it acts like a vine is supposed to. People complain about bougainvilleas here too; that's why I'm out pruning mine every few weeks. I notice a lot of people like to buy plants that are advertised as easy or low-maintenance, but those are often the plants that will get out of hand because they grow too well. I'd say if you're a regular maintenance kind of gardener, you could just keep an eye on it and keep it in check.

Climbing down off my soapbox now...

Melanie

I hear what you're saying Melanie, but I don't want underground runners all over, I only have a city lot!

I agree...those air potatoes are an awful thug! A neighbor gave me one about 7 years ago and the squirrels buried those 'potatoes', they are still coming up!

Native plants have a right, but not if they are invasive and aggressive...at least not in my yard.

It is funny that I have heard so much about them being invasive that it is kind of frightening. However, since I bought mine about two to three months ago and it grew a little bit and then the cats took over and now it is pretty much gone. But I have seen pics of peoples passion vines and they are just beautiful and huge. Now if mine will take over my back fence I would love it. I have no problem with that and think it would be great. But then again like fly-girl says I worry about having underground runners everywhere. Although as I have said many times, with the hard clay soil I have I just think it would hard for these runners to do much damage. But again I don't know.

Thanks for all of your opinions. They are always appreciated and helpful.

Leslie

Leslie,

So far I have no issues about invasivness. In fact i wish a few of my small ones would go ahead and become a little invasive :) The cats love them and there never seems to be enough.

People warn you becasue there are some that are that invasive that will branch out into the yards but again I think that happens if you don't manage your garden. I am in my garden daily making sure my vines are growing onto the trellis where I want them to. I see what things are growing where they are not supposed to. Certain species will be invasive in one zone and okay in others. Ones that i hear are invasive I keep ina pot and put near a trellis. I know Sprucii is invasive here and I got a cutting of one but it was so small (Only 3 inches) it is dying anyway. I would have kept it in a pot

Being that you are a colder area, things will probably die down and then thankfully come back in the warmer months.

Flutter

Thanks Flutter. Kind of my way of thinking. I do keep a pretty good eye on my garden because every day I go out and tell everything to grow, grow. Some things are slow growing ya know. And like I said I have a whole chain link fence for these guys to take over and it will be my pleasure. But I am not afraid to cut back if needed. It is these runners I hear about that worry me more. But I have a pretty big backyard and they would have to go pretty far to make it into a neighbor's yard. Now they could pop up in the alley but I hope no one would care about that. It would actually be an improvement. LOL. Thanks for reassuring me. I am starting to feel better about them and not so worried. I know this year they are not going to become crazy as there is not that much time left for them to grow. I will certainly keep an eye on next year.

Thanks again.

Leslie

It's a good thought but it's not what happens with a passionvine. They have a mind of their own and grow wherever they want, whether I put it on the fence or not. I have "Incense" and it grows beautifully. It dies to the ground in the winter and pops back up each spring. A few years ago the main plant didn't return in it's spot but it came up further down the fence, and further down.

This year it's in the basic same spot. This picture is a few weeks old and it's grown more since. To the right of the picture it has come up away from the fence in my bed so it's now growing across the ground and I'm working it up on to the wire and fence. To the left it sprouted up and is covering the other end of the fence. In front of it is my son's flower bed, in which I constantly pull up runners. I just dug one up in hopes to give it away because the vine was so big but it actually didn't have a root system other than a very large runner.

I've often imagined this spider's web of roots running all out from the fence into my yard and seeing this one dug up sort of confirms it. Oh, it also has spread into my neighbors yard and in various places including next to their house. I feel bad about that one because they cut it back but I KNOW the roots are still there and NO telling what's happening.

I could spend my entire day, and sometimes do, out in the yard but that has nothing to do with what my vine is doing underground. My milkweed is out of control and almost invasive so I am going to have to go out and cut off pods this year, if I want to have anything else next year. You can see the milkweed, which is just the tip of the iceberg, at the bottom of this pic.

Paige, I loved your 'Insence" PV, and would really like to have a start of it if you are bringing it to the Arlington swap in Oct.
My Maypop does send out runners underground, but I haven't had too many of them. It is WAY up in my neighbors Crepe Myrtles though! LOL! I will need to cut that portion back this winter and keep better control of it.

Sure Sheila! I've got a couple rooting inside now. By time the swap gets her I'll find plenty more!

Thanks bunches, those will be a hot item!