Passiflora Chat

After commenting on a photo by pete I thought that it may be a plan to start a thread off just for Passion Flowers.

The brief is simple - share your experience of growing Passiflora, your tips, your favourites or just ask for advice.

I'm especially keen to hear about rarer or exotic species or cultivars.

 

I'll start it off with a couple that my other half has grown;

P.antioquensis bloomed quite late last summer. She also grew it in 2011 but it never made it through the winter. So last year it was in a 3 litre pot and grew strongly before it was moved into the greenhouse for the winter.


The blooms are about 15cm across and hang down below the plant about 20cm or more so best shown off on an overhead trellis.

Passiflora x exoniensis is quite similar (P.antioquensis is one of the parents), but said to be hardier. Whilst the flowers are similar to a quick glance there are differences; The style is shorter, the flower is darker and it doesn't hang so much.


It also bloomed better last year.

 

I still haven't got around to starting my collection. This was the thread that contained my wish list, from De Passifloratuin

http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/threads/what-passion-flowers-to-buy.41880/

 

Sadly, I have never had luck with the named varieties, ie, P Victoria, P foetida or P quadranguladis, P purpurea and even P edulis. However, I cannot get rid of P caerulea ... it's very frustrating and grows wherever it wants to, through dry stone walls, in gravel etc. I would love to get one of the aforesaid named varieties going.

 

Hi Longk

Great thread look forward with interest , this site is really good I know I saved it from here last year but dont know who put it on , I will be ordering a few in April so hope they dont mind me re-posting
http://www.passifloratuin.com/


Spruce

 

As I said to longk, this is my favourite up to now, P. alata.
Not only does it look interesting and unusual it also has quite a nice scent which is quite strong.
I tend to think it needs a bit more warmth than is often stated and 10C minimum seems right to me.


This is another one I like, it tends to not climb that well, it becomes a bit untidy as it scrambles, but the flowers make it worthwhile.
It survives frost free.
P. "Anastasia"


P. "victoria", A good climber, but slightly fragile , I find, until established, but then it flowers very well if allowed to drape.

One I've yet to get into flowering well, but I do like it.
P. "purple haze", it has the same scent as P. alata, but is hardier,(not totally hardy), unfortunately I struggle to get more that a few flowers each summer

 

Victoria - did you mean P.quadrangularis?




I would love to try growing that but deffo lack the facilities. The photos above were taken at Oxford botanic gardens where it grows in the Lily House (the same house as Strongylodon macrobotrys) where it is hot and very humid.

 

Kristen - what's holding you back?!

That was Kristen Spruce!

 

Yes Keith, sorry a slight typo ... my 'neighbour' has a massive one from which I took a cutting and I bought some seeds from Chiltern but sadly no success either way. We are hot but certainly not humid here.

 

It's the favourite that I've grown too.
Now overwintering in the cool spare room.

White Lightning is a nice P.caerulea variety. Like the true species it's hardy, rampant and blooms well in the UK climate. Sadly it was in the ground at my old house so I no longer have that one.


Passiflora "Amethyst" was a cheapy (a quid as I recall) rescue job from Sainsburys. Grew well in a pot in the greenhouse (and through the vent to the outside) blooming right up to the first hard frost. Looks happy enough in there today with no heat (or water).

 

Here's a link to the Hardiness guide on Dr. Maurizio Vecchias Passiflora site.

 

Here's P.alata at Oxfords botanic gardens (in the Orangery).................


..............and one of mine from last summer..................


As you can see, I still have a lot to learn about growing this one!

 

I thought that it was a cracker too. Nice and simple to look at (less is more sometimes) and to care for.
My one issue with P.caerulea is that it's too aggressive for the side of the house. Had it force its way past the double glazing and into the kitchen at the old place.

 

Bone-idleness in clearing the backlog of my ever growing ToDo list.

Of course this is a problem unique to just me