emilycompost - Celebrating gardening, plants, and weeds

Emily (who we are)

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Wildflowers and Weeds

Passiflora Granadilla
(pass-if-LOR-rah)
Passion Flower (Maypop or Apricot Vine)
PASSIFLORACEAE

Passiflora Granadilla, better know as the passion flower - there are more than 400 species of this evergreen tendril climber. It can vine from 10 to 30 feet.

Some are native to North America with absolutely wonderful blooms.

This one looks like a ballerina dancing on the head of a flower. So delicate and beautiful.

Butterflies just love this plant.

They bloom in the spring through the summer and some of the hybrids are ever blooming in mild climates. Its bloom can be 3 inches in size. After the bloom often there will be a very showy fruit.

The leaves are lobed and somewhat resemble bat wings.

They grow best in sunny to half-sunny areas, in moist but well-drained soil. They are often found in lush green woodlands.

They propagate well by semi-ripe cuttings or branch layer in spring or autumn or sow seeds from the pods from winter thru spring. They can be used over arbors, trellises, and fences.

Some questions from Emily's mailbox:

Q: I do have a question regarding a lovely passion flower we have in a large pot in our back yard. It is very healthy and has prolific blossoms, but most die before they bloom. It is sad to see so many ready to bloom but dead before they come out. Is there anything I can do to make sure that doesn’t happen so often? The plant has good drainage, good sun, and I fertilize pretty regularly.

A: We don't know why they would die before they bloom. Is it too cold in the nights? They don't like full sun, but lots of good light. Perhaps it is in the full sun?

Ours sort of grew wild.

Q: I planted a passion flower vine last spring and it bloomed beautifully. But I am wondering if I need to cut the dead vine down or leave it for new growth this spring.

A: We had a passion flower vine when we lived in SC and never pruned it at all. It just came back in the spring.

However, the American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants says to prune it back by about 1/3 in winter or early spring (before new growth).

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