How to Grow and Care for Passionflower

Passionflowers have many varieties. While most passionflowers are climbing or prostrate vines, there are some classified as shrubs, annuals, perennials, and trees. The best place to plant a passionflower is in moist but well-drained soil in a sunny spot with the shelter of a wall or trellis. Most, but not all, passionflowers produce edible fruits. Make sure to select a fruiting cultivar if you desire adding passion fruit to your garden-to-table meals. For fruiting success, place it in a pollinator garden.

The unusual-looking flowers bloom from midsummer to early fall but only last about one day. Depending on where they're growing, passionflowers will die back in the winter in colder climates, while some cultivars remain evergreen in warm areas. These plants are native to North America, growing from Delaware west to Missouri and south to Texas and Florida, and also grow in Central and South America.

A passionflower has a wide, flat petal base with five or 10 petals in a flat or reflex circle. Passionflowers are rapid growers, coming back every year in zones 7-11. They are best planted in spring or early fall while it's still warm. The plant's toxicity varies by type, so check which one you are growing if you have small children or pets.

Passionflower Care

Passionflowers may look like they are from the tropics, but they can actually be grown almost anywhere, including much colder areas. In fact, you may even find these seemingly delicate passionflower vines growing along the side of the road—some passionflower species can spread vigorously in warmer climates. The genus Passiflora is native to North America and South America and contains more than 500 species, so the common name passionflower can actually describe many different plants.

Where they are hardy, passionflowers are usually trained on a trellis, fence, or other vertical structures. In regions where they are not hardy, passionflower plants are often grown in pots and moved indoors for the winter.

Typically, they should be grown in full sun to partial shade, in average, but well-drained soil. A sheltered location, such as against a garden wall, is recommended for many species, which can be damaged by major winds or harsh weather.

Light

To keep your passionflower vines healthy and blooming, plant them in full sun to partial shade. Plants appreciate some afternoon shade in extremely hot climates. Passionflowers generally need at least four to six full hours of sunlight a day (or more in cooler climates). If you bring potted specimens indoors for the winter, give them bright, indirect light and keep them away from drafts.

Planting and Soil

The soil in which you plant your vines should be well-draining but rich and moist. Soil pH isn't important and can be in the neutral to the acidic range, anywhere from about 6.1 to 7.5. Adding compost to the planting hole will help provide nutrients, and mulching around the plant's base will assist in retaining moisture without having the plant become waterlogged. Mulch will also help protect roots during winter in colder zones.

Passionflower is best planted in the spring or fall. It prefers a sheltered area, like a wall. Typically, some support is needed for passionflower vines to grow, such as a trellis, a structure, or another plant. You can train it to go up a pergola or other structure, but it only needs a little guidance and doesn't require tying since it has self-clinging tendrils.

Water

Passionflowers should be given a deep watering immediately after planting. Beyond that, they typically thrive with one or two waterings per week throughout their growing season. Make sure to provide about 1 inch to 1.5 inches of water every week.

Temperature and Humidity

Passionflower plants love warm weather and may need winter protection in cooler regions. To prevent your plant from dieback, bring it indoors as temperatures drop. Plant them in an area that's protected from wind, as a strong wind can damage stems and burn leaves. In addition, they do best in areas with moderate to high humidity ranging from 60 to 85 percent.

Fertilizer

Passionflower vines are heavy feeders and will benefit from a regular light application of balanced, general-purpose fertilizer with equal proportions of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Fertilize the plant before new growth emerges in early spring, and then repeat every four to six weeks until early autumn. For the amount to use, follow product label instructions.

How to Grow Passionflower Indoors

Passionflower grows best outdoors, but if you live in an area with freezing winters in a USDA zone lower than a mild 7, grow passionflower in a container and bring it indoors as the threat of freeze approaches. Grow it in a south-facing room, sunroom, or greenhouse. When grown inside, it will not grow as vigorously nor produce fruits.

Types of Passionflowers

There are hundreds of varieties of passionflower, though they mostly differ in color and appearance, not care. Some of the most popular cultivars for landscaping and gardening include:

• Passiflora caerulea: blue passionflower
• Passiflora coccinea: red passionflower
• Passiflora incarnata: purple passionflower
• Passiflora alata : "Ruby Star,' fragrant granadilla

Pruning Passionflower

Passionflowers are low maintenance during their growing season and do not need to be deadheaded. Pruning is done more to keep the size of the passionflower vine in check, remove deadwood, and encourage fuller growth.

Pruning can be done in late summer if needed. These plants flower on new growth, so make sure to prune them before growth begins each spring in order to preserve the season's blooms.

Propagating Passionflower

In addition to growing passionflower from seed, the plant can be propagated using methods such as taking softwood stem cuttings and layering (which works like air layering, but it's done in the ground).

Softwood cuttings are used to propagate when you want to start a new passionflower plant in another part of your yard or garden without having to wait for seeds. Layering is an ideal method to propagate passionflower right in the garden without having to do any passionflower vine cuttings from the mother plant, and it requires only a tiny bit of dirty work in the late summer or early fall. Here's how to propagate passionflower using these two methods.

Propagate With Softwood Cuttings

1. With a clean, sharp pair of pruners, cut a 4- to 6-inch stem below a node.
2. Strip off the leaves at the bottom of the cutting.
3. Dip about an inch of the bottom of the cutting in rooting hormone.
4. Fill a small pot with well-draining potting mix and place the cutting 1/2 to 1 inch into the soil.
5. Lightly water the soil and cover the pot with a plastic bag, closing it at the bottom, and making a couple of small slits at the top for the plant to breathe. Do not let the leaves touch the sides of the plastic bag.
6. Place the pot in a shady spot and keep it warm and moist. Within a few weeks, gently tug on the cutting to see if it's rooted. When rooted, transplant the cutting into its permanent location.
   

Propagate by Tip Layering

1. Find the tip of a vine in the area where you'd like to grow and expand your passionflower plant.
2. You can put the tip of the vine into the ground. Or, you can push a part of the vine into the ground to propagate. To do that, you will need to find a few inches of vine past the tip, where you can remove any leaves and bumps (leaves can cause bacterial problems if buried in the soil). This smooth portion will be pushed into the ground to propagate.
3. Make a shallow dip in the soil where you want the vine to grow. Place the smooth part of the vine flat into the soil, then cover it back up with soil.
4. If the vine keeps popping up, weigh it down with a light rock or secure it with a garden anchor pin to keep the vine in direct contact with the soil.
5. In the spring, tug on the vine to see if it has rooted well. If you prefer, keep it in place or dig it up and transplant it to another area.
   

How to Grow Passionflower From Seed

Most varieties of passionflower can be purchased as seedling plants. They can also be propagated from seed. Follow these steps to grow passionflower from seed.

1. To save seeds, allow the fruits to ripen completely. The fruit will ripen to deep yellow-orange, purple, or red, depending on the cultivar, and begin to crinkle. Open the pods and remove, clean, and dry the seeds before storing them. If you are saving seeds from a hybrid variety, remember that they will not grow true to seed, but will revert to the appearance of the parent species.
2. Passionflower seeds can be slow to germinate. Start your seeds indoors by scarifying them and soaking them for one to two days in warm water. Discard any floating seeds, as these are not viable.
3. Place the well-soaked seeds on the surface of damp potting mix, pat down, but do not cover since they need light to germinate. Place the pot into a plastic bag and seal to retain moisture. If you can provide bottom heat (via a heat mat) to the pot, you will speed up germination.
4. It can take anywhere from 10 to 20 days for passionflower seeds to sprout. Keep the soil moist at all times. When sprouts do appear, keep them out of direct sunlight until there are true leaves. Grow lights are your best light source during this stage of the process.
5. Harden off the plant for 10 days to two weeks by slowly introducing it to outdoor conditions, extending the amount of sunlight it receives each day.
6. Transplant once the plant gets large enough and possesses several sets of leaves.
7. If direct-sowing seeds outdoors, wait until the danger of frost has passed and temperatures reach at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

Potting and Repotting Passionflower

Many gardeners prefer to grow their passionflowers in containers, where they will grow quite happily and offer you the convenience of being able to move them to a sunnier site or even bringing them indoors for the winter. Additionally, growing in pots prevents passionflowers from spreading uncontrollably.

To successfully pot your passionflower, use a potting soil rich in nutrients, and make sure the pot (of any material) has several large drainage holes at its base. Keep the soil moist, but don't allow the roots to sit in water. Plants grown in containers will need more regular feedings since they are watered more frequently and nutrients typically rinse out as the soil drains.

Overwintering

If you are bringing a container-bound passionflower plant indoors for winter, trim the stems down to 1 or 2 feet high before moving it. It will probably go semi-dormant and look less than ideal, but it should perk up again in the spring.

Common Pests and Plant Diseases

The warmer and more humid the climate, the more pests there may be to attack your passionflower plants, including scale, spider mites, and whiteflies. You can attempt to control any infestations with a food-grade insecticide.

Leaf spot is another potential issue and is generally caused by a fungal disease. To rid your plant of it, remove affected leaves to slow the spread and treat the plant with a fungicide if necessary. Root rot is also common in soils that do not drain well.

Common Problems With Passionflower

The passionflower is a relatively carefree plant to grow, but it may turn yellow for a variety of reasons. Potted passionflower plants may turn yellow or wilt if they are being underwatered or feel too cold.

Passionflower plants in the ground may have yellowing leaves because there's a problem with the soil's nutrients. You can have the soil tested so it can be properly amended. The soil may be too rich in boron, or the soil may lack the essential ones the plant needs to thrive. Some nutrients that may be lacking include:

• Iron
• Magnesium
• Manganese
• Molybdenum
• Nitrogen
• Potassium
• Sulfur
• Zinc