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Are you growing Passion Flower Vine? Come learn its needs for soil, water, pruning, fertilizer, pests, growing problems, and more. We include a great video, and address issues such as whether Passion Flower vine is a perennial, its potential medical benefits, and information on its many varieties. Continue reading the rest of the post below…
The purple passion fruit makes its home from southern Brazil through Paraguay and in parts northern Argentina. Before 1900, passion fruit was partially naturalized and flourishing in coastal areas of Australia. Seeds of the passion fruit were brought from Australia to Hawaii and first planted in 1880. It wasn’t long, because of its fast-growing nature that the passiflora vine became popular in home gardens.
Botanical Name: Passiflora incarnata
Genus: Passiflora
En français: Passiflore
Sun / Shade:
Water: Thoroughly water Passion flowers
Height:
Pollinators:
Passion vines prefer a frost-free climate. Some cultivars can take temperatures into the upper 20’s (F) without serious damage. The “Blue Passion Vine” is pretty cold hardy and salt tolerant but the plant does not grow well in intense summer heat. The yellow passion fruit is tropical and isn’t fond of frost. The purple and yellow forms both need protection from the wind. They make quite a few products from the plant and fruit – Like tea.
Another interesting item about the Passiflora is that they are very popular with butterflies such as zebra longwing and gulf fritillary butterfly.
There are dozens of passion vines, both edible and non-edible. Many species of passion flowers bear edible fruits. Among them, Passiflora data, antioquiensis, edula, incarnate (the Maypop of southern US), laurifolia, ligularis, and maliformis.
The Passion Flower is a quick-growing perennial plant which spreads via root suckers. It is a climbing vine and can cover large areas above ground and spread far and wide below ground. In climates that experience warm winter temperatures, it is a woody plant. In very cold temperatures, the above-ground vegetation dies off during winter and the plant is herbaceous.
Care for the passion fruit vines requires full sun except during those very hot summer days, if possible provide some partial shade. The vine is a fast grower and can get out of hand, so if possible plant it next to a chain link fence or on a trellis. and
The vines grow in many soil types but make sure the plant gets excellent drainage. A well-drained soil is still the best. Also, passion flowers grow excellently on soils with pH levels of 6.5 to 7.5.
If you want to keep the vines flowering almost continuously, regular water is necessary. The vines are shallow-rooted and will benefit from a thick layer of organic mulch in the soil.
Although the passionflowers don’t need pruning to encourage growth, prune the fast-growing vine to keep it in control and encourage branching. Prune in early spring as this serves as the perfect time when new growth appears. Avoid cutting the main stems, just remove those unwanted twining stems.
Passiflora vines are vigorous growers and require regular fertilizing. Stay away from just using a 20-20-20 liquid fertilizer. This may promote good growth but possibly too much green and not enough flower. Use a solid fertilizer with a ratio more along the lines of a 2-1-3.
You won’t find the passiflora plant being attacked by a host of insect pests but it cannot escape them completely.
The Passion Flower is listed as hardy in USDA hardiness zones 5-9; however, it may actually struggle in zone 5 and may not survive very cold winters. If you live below zone 6 you should plant Passion Flower in a sheltered area near a wall so and provide the roots with protection against the cold in the wintertime.
The Passion Flower blooms from mid-summer to early fall. It is typically in bloom from July to September. The flowers are attractive and fragrant. They transition into edible, egg-shaped fruits called Maypops.
These fruits are fleshy and quite tasty. They are good for eating out-of-hand and for making jelly.
Fruits are called Maypop because they pop loudly when stepped on. [source]
As the Passion Flower has grown in popularity, it has found itself planted in a variety of conditions and in areas it would never naturally grow. Even though (or perhaps because) the plant is essentially a vigorous wildflower, these unusual circumstances can interfere with its performance. Here are four of the most common reasons Passion Flower fails to bloom.
Like many types of plants, some Passion Flowers need several years to become established and bloom. This is especially true if you grow your plant from seed. Depending upon your climate, passion flower may grow as a woody plant or a tender perennial. Woody plants often have a “juvenile stage” which precedes maturity. During this phase, the plant will not flower. Instead, it will produce lots of leaves and shoots. This may go on for a couple of years, but if you will just be patient with your plant and continue to care for it, you will eventually be rewarded with flowers.
Remember the passion vine flower is basically a wildflower. They do better with less care and less nutrition.
Pampering and excessive fertilizing can lead to lots of leaves and no flowers. This is especially true if you feed a high nitrogen fertilizer, which encourages vegetative growth.
Your best bet is to stop fertilizing and water your plant thoroughly to wash away as much nitrogen as possible. Adding phosphorus (i.e. bone meal) to the soil may also help balance nitrogen levels.
Like most flowering, fruiting plants, Passion Flower needs lots of sun in order to produce. Keeping the plant in the shade may result in lots of leaves and few or no flowers.
These plants are drought tolerant, but that doesn’t mean that they do their best in drought conditions.
If you want a plant with plenty of pretty flowers and fruit, you must plant it in well-draining soil and give it plenty of water. Ample water helps deliver nourishment to the leaves and other plant structures so the plant can thrive and flowers and fruit can grow.
These four considerations usually account for lack of flowering in Passion Flowers vines and many other natives, and flowering plants. When you keep your climate and the plant’s growth habits in mind and take care to provide the right amount of nourishment, water and light, your plant will surely produce pretty blossoms in good time. [source]
The benefits of Passion Flower have been studied through many medical and research projects. Conclusions about the degree to which passionflower works vary from study to study. And its benefits continue to be studied.
Studies have also shown potential for side effects ranging from confusion, dizziness, nausea/vomiting, liver toxicity.
Passion Flower is usually taken as a pill or as tea.
Early missionaries devoted to botany saw in the flowers a religious symbol. The flower parts, indicated in image, suggested to them the Passion of Christ, and thus the flower was named.
These exotic passion flowers have been symbolized with the crucifixion and sometimes look like they resemble something from outer space.
Not shown are the tendrils representing cords or whips and the leaves suggesting the hands of the persecutors.
The passion flower plant was one of the treasures found by the Spaniards in the new world. Years later taxonomists classified the passion flower passiflora in a large family containing many species and a great number of hybrids.
Today, probably the best-known hybrid is Passiflora alata-caerulea. This hybrid variety of passion flower has the largest and showiest flowers of them all.
For more read Epic Gardening’s article!
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