How to Grow Passiflora Plants

Guide to Growing and Caring for Passion flowers, vine, and Fruit, Granadilla, and Maracuja

Passiflora are hardy or half hardy perennial vines that can reach from 4.5 to 9 m in height.

They carry beautiful flowers of white and purple, that bloom from late summer to early autumn.

Some members of Passiflora also carry attractive egg shaped fruits in the autumn.

Some of the common names for members of the Passiflora genus include Passion Flower, Maypop, and Granadilla.

Passiflora incarnata
Passiflora incarnata by ggallic.

Passiflora Growing and Care Guide

Common Names: Passion flowers, Passion vine, Passion Fruit, Granadilla, Maypop, Maracuja
Life Cycle: Hardy perennial. Half hardy perennial.
Height: Vines: 15 to 30 feet (4.5 to 9 m), and smaller shrubs.
Native: Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australasia.
Growing Region: Zones 6 to 10.
Flowers: Late summer through to early autumn.
Flower Details: Exquisite. White and purple; sometimes red. Ten petals. Radial filaments.
Fruit: Edible ovate fruit (E.g., Passion fruit; Sweet Granadilla; maypop).
Foliage: Dark green. Fingered lobes. Lanceolate. Semi-evergreen.
Sow Outside: Fresh seed. 1/4 inch (6 mm). Following the last frost. Spacing 24 to 36 inches (60—90 cm).
Sow Inside: Seeds should be soaked overnight in warm water. Germination time: one month to year. Temperature: 80°F (27°C). Transplant outdoors well after the last frost, when temperatures do not drop below Temperature: 47°F (8°C).
Requirements and care: Full sunlight or partial shade. Good drainage. Soil pH: 6 to 8. Deep soil. Fairly rich. Regular watering. Provide trellis. Provide mulch. Prune dead branches in the early spring once plants are well established (at least three years old). Cut back side shoots to about six inches (15 cm) in the autumn or when pruning dead material. Propagate: by taking cuttings in the spring and summer.
Family: Passifloraceae.
Closely Related Species: Passionflower.
Miscellaneous: Nectar attracts butterflies, hummingbirds, and ants.

How to Grow Passion Flower

It is probably easiest to grow passion flower and other Passiflora members from cuttings; these can be taken in spring or autumn. If you prefer to grow from seeds, then be aware that they can take up to a year to germinate (if at all).
The seeds should be soaked for a day, sown into flats, and maintained at about 27 degrees Centigrade in the greenhouse.

Once ready transplant seedlings or cuttings into the garden in mid spring, well after the last chance of frost at about 60 to 90 cm apart. As Passiflora are vines that reach a great height they will require a trellis to grow on. Passion flowers are able to grow in both sunny or partially shaded parts of the garden. It is very important that the soil that they grow in is deep and moist; it should be fairly rich.

Caring for Passiflora

To look after passion flowers they should be regularly watered. After three years of growth you can start to prune back the Passiflora vines to make the plant more attractive. Dead branches should be pruned and side shoots cut back to be about 15 cm long; this can be done either at the start of spring or in the autumn.

I hope that you enjoyed this guide on how to grow Passiflora plants. You may also enjoy the following Gardener's HQ growing guides: How to grow Balloon Flower and Begonia grandis plants.