Hi all,
I recently bought two Passiflora plants at a sale. One is Passiflora 'Lavender Lady' and the other is only marked with "blue passion flower" (Passiflora caerulea). I have read the PF articles about these, but I have a few questions. I am down here on the gulf coast in 8b.
The plants are in great shape but they are in nursery pots and I want to do something more or less permanent with them before "winter" sets in. I am trying to decide if I should put them in containers like I did my MG this year (I bought some rectangular planters and then "planted" my trellises in them) or if I should put the Passifloras in the ground on a south-facing side of my garage and erect new trellises behind them.
I know that here in the sunny, humid South it is common for plants to perform well in partial shade even if they have full sun prescribed in northern climates. If the Passiflora will do well in partial shade here (and still flower well), I have a few more options.
Also, do I need to deadhead them or are they not too bad with self-sowing?
I'd appreciate any comments yall have.
Regards,
David
Regards,
David
Southern newbie to Passiflora
Hi Dave!
Sorry that no one has answered you yet...Prob. the holiday thing.
I am still new to passiflora having just gotten my first one this summer. I believe that you'd need another passi to pollinate yours, but not sure.
Here is the link to the plantfiles on it, though. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/490/
Bev
Hello David.
Congratulations on your first two Passifloras! You will soon find yourself buying more, lol!
Where you plant your new plants really depends on just how cold it gets where you are. I would describe the two Passifloras you have as semi-tropical. They can easily handle nights in the 40's (in my experience), but a true hard freeze would kill them for sure. If there is any chance you will get a hard freeze during the winter, you may want to grow them in planters so you can move them indoors for a few nights if necessary. If you never, ever get a freeze, you'll probably want to grow them in the ground, as they will probably get larger and more floriferous there than in pots. Either way, though, you should get plenty of blooms.
I believe that both of the Passifloras you have would do just fine in partial shade in your climate, although they might not bloom as much as if they were in full sun.
You can certainly deadhead the spent blooms if you like, but I rarely do. They tend to fall off within a few days. As far as self-sowing....that is very unlikely. The fruits would have to mature fully on the vine, fall to the ground, break down, and then the seeds germinate. It's unlikely that that would ever happen without you noticing. Much more of a concern with some Passifloras is their tendency to produce runners that lead to new plants popping up all over your garden. I don't know if that would be an issue for the two you have.
Good luck with your new plants, and please be sure to post pictures!
Erick
As far as self-sowing, 'Lavender Lady' is sterile, and caerulea is self-incompatible, and will require cross-pollination to set fruit, so that is not likely to ever be an issue. The caerulea should be hardy for you in the ground, and even if it gets killed back by a hard freeze, it will re-sprout from the roots. However, I would be hesitant to plant anything in the ground now, but wait and plant in the ground in the spring. Once established over a growing season, they will be much more likely to survive a winter. You will need to protect the pots from freezing temps, as the roots can be easily killed if they freeze.
Hal