Passion flowers

[thedrisback]

hi all 1st posting in flowers lol
anyway i would like to grow some PASSION FLOWERS as i whent to a bbq today and in there garden they had a big PASSION FLOWER plant
and there where lots of bees and wasp on it and i enjoyed whaching them when i was in the garden.


what i would like to know is,
how easy are they to grow and how easy are they are to grow from seed??

also is there a best place to put them and is there anything i sould look out for??

hope to hear from you all soon thanks

[FionaH]

take a look at this http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...wer_27876.html

[thedrisback]

thanks for that but how easy are they as some pepole are saying they can not get them to grow??

[Sweepster]

Mine took a long time to germinate from seed (months), but I did it purely as an experiment so didn't mind! There are some more tender varieties of passion flower that are best suited to growing in a conservatory, so stick to the more 'common' and hardy passiflora caerulea (there's also a white version) for outdoor growing.

Depending on how much space you want to fill (they do get BIG eventually), and how patient you are, I'd consider buying a plant instead - or as well - so that you get flowers sooner.

[sarraceniac]

You can often get them very cheaply at Morrisons or Wilkos. Better than seed is to get a cutting (the BBQ people may be happy to give you one) after flowering in autumn. You will get a plant far quicker than from seed. As Sweepster says they can take months to germinate. Make sure you get one that is hardy here though. Some are very tender.

[Two_Sheds]

As Sarraceniac says: buy a young plant. I got mine from QD/Cherry Lane stores for £1.80 each.
The white ones aren't very hardy, but the common blue one is. They don't like shade, and will grow more leaf than flower if in a shaded spot.

They are rampant ... you need a large bit of fence for them, and strong trellis for them to cling to.

[thedrisback]

hi all and thanks for geting back to me.
space is not a problem for me lol
sarraceniac said about geting th pepole that have the plant to take a cuting where should they cut it from and how do i go about growing it??
thanks

[lainey lou]

you might be able to dig out a self seedling from your mates?
This is what I did (and what my mate had done previously from another mate!) Mine is now massive!
If you decide you want seeds, let me know and I will send you some!

[sarraceniac]

Seems like a good place to post this. My Passiflora Constance Elliot has just thrown out its first flower of the year. Despite Two Sheds theories on white Passiflora, 'Constance Elliot' is actually hardier than the standard Passiflora caerulea. It came through this year's appalling February with no problems but of my C. caeruleas, one died and the other one is just recovering but not flowering yet. The first picture is of my Connie and the second one of the full plant is the recovering C. caerulea.

[pdblake]

We put in a young plant a couple of years ago and it's grown really well. It's all but covered a panel of 6x6 trellis and is covered in flowers for the first time this year.

Question is, will they fruit?

[sarraceniac]

We put in a young plant a couple of years ago and it's grown really well. It's all but covered a panel of 6x6 trellis and is covered in flowers for the first time this year.

Question is, will they fruit?

They may fruit but the question is 'Can you eat them?'

I hope you aren't making the mistake of mixing up Passiflora edulis and P. caerulea. The latter is the one with the beautiful bluey purple flowers that we manage to grow (just) in this country. It has orange fruit which, whilst not poisonous, are pretty horrible to the taste (I know, I love tasting things ). The P. edulis will only grow here under glass and has that purple, perfumy, exotic fruit that is so beloved of smoothie manufacturers. (You know apricot, passion fruit and gooseberry etc. ) My guess is that you have a P. caerulea (unless you actually live in Brazil ) so if it fruits you can use them for seed but I doubt if you would enjoy eating them.

[gallop]

Hi everyone, a couple of weeks ago I was given a large passion flower. It is on a trellis in the back garden and is thriving, however it is showing no sign of flowering-I wonder if the move has set it back

[sarraceniac]

Hi everyone, a couple of weeks ago I was given a large passion flower. It is on a trellis in the back garden and is thriving, however it is showing no sign of flowering-I wonder if the move has set it back

Hi Gallop, welcome to GYO. It may well have been set back by the move especially if it was moved late but it may just be a late flowering one like P. caerulea. Wouldn't worry yet. If there is one thing that growing things teaches you it's patience . If it doesn't flower this year, then it will next.

[gallop]

Hi Gallop, welcome to GYO. It may well have been set back by the move especially if it was moved late but it may just be a late flowering one like P. caerulea. Wouldn't worry yet. If there is one thing that growing things teaches you it's patience . If it doesn't flower this year, then it will next.

Thanks very much sarraceniac