Blue Passion Flower

GardenForums.com a friendly and growing community of gardeners. We feature a Garden Discussion Forum and Garden Photo Gallery. It's a fun and friendly place to talk with other gardeners, ask questions, share you knowledge, view and post photos and more! Whether you're a master gardener, or brand new to the hobby, you'll find something of interest here.



Dee

New Member
A few weeks back I purchased a Blue Passion Flower from a local nursery in Western PA. I couldn't resist, the flowers are so pretty & unique, not to mention they smell good! The saleswoman told me it's an annual, but I found info online that says it's a perennial...So which is it?! I have it in a container on my porch for now, but if it will come back next year, I'll transplant it to a permanent spot in my garden.
My other question is will it ever produce fruit in my climate zone? I haven't any yet, so I'm thinking the answer's no. :confused:
 

Dor

Active Member
I lost my Blue passion flower due to the cold weather and my yardman pulling it up by the root. I had it for about 4 years and each year it bloomed more and more. I never got any fruit on it eventhough I know other varieties produce fruit. It was one of my favorite plants and I am looking to find another. I bought it at Walmart and paid more that I wanted but it was a 5 gallon and well worth it.
 

Dee

New Member
I paid more than what I would normally pay for a plant too. I justified it though because I got all of my tomato plants for free because I waited longer than most. Over 40 plants! I'll be canning a lot...pasta sauce & salsa for everyone this Christmas!
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
Hi Dee ,
Welcome to Gardenforums.com. I am not sure about zone 7 but I know here in the south they are perennials. Also the flowers will put on large seed pods you can harvest and save for planting next year incase it turns out to be an annual for you. In my experience the passion flowers sold in the store are not the same as the fruit. But then so many time common or nicknames appear on plants that are of no relation to the ones you think of . I would use great cautin in eating from a plant you are not positive about if in fact it does produce fruit;)
Good luck on the tomates and canning.
 

Kya D

Active Member
I read that they will winter over in zones 6-9
I love em but have never tried to grow them here in zone 5
 

Dee

New Member
I would use great cautin in eating from a plant you are not positive about if in fact it does produce fruit

I am always worried about poisoning myself accidentally! There are a lot of things at this new house that I've been unsure about. I took samples to a local nursery & they told me it was all good stuff, but then you gotta wonder how sure they are. I must say though, I'm glad I trusted the salesman about our sour cherry tree, just think of all those cherries that would be wasted if I thought they weren't edible!
 

Dee

New Member
Also the flowers will put on large seed pods you can harvest and save for planting next year incase it turns out to be an annual for you.

Thanks for the welcome. Are the seed pods the little green oval ball behind the stamen? I've noticed them once the blooms start drying up.
 

Trax

Active Member
Welcome to the forum, Dee! I'm in zone 7 and just joined last night.
What you probly have is Passiflora Caerulea. I grew one last summer and the vines were over 20 feet long. It made 2 awesome flowers and the flowers turned into vanilla-colored seed pods about as big around as a nickle. Before temps dipped below 50's (F), I potted one vine and left the other one outside (unprotected). If my cat hadn't messed with the indoor one, I think it would have survived the whole winter. But the outdoor one did not come back. But it did make several seedlings that are growing in my garden now! Btw, I can provide pics if you'd like to see the vines & seedlings.
But yeah, never eat anything unless you're totally sure. I won't even eat bamboo shoots till I know what the toxin levels are for each species. Oh, and congrats on the tomatoes! We got too few put out too late.
 

Dee

New Member
I'll have to try one indoors too. We don't have pets so maybe mine will survive.
As far as the questionable fruits around our property...I always research things a lot, but I'm still never comfortable relying on info I find online cuz how do I know the Joe Shmoe that wrote it knows what he's talking about.

For instance, I found what I think are wild strawberries under our hedges. There are vines growing up through a tree that grow tiny raspberries/blackberries. There was a tree that grew small plums, but had some kinda disease (bumpy black growths on the branches, like a fungus) that we've since removed. They all seem to fall off before completely ripening, very small & not fully colored. Maybe they're just unhealthy due to lack of care for so long. But I never ate any of them. I hate to take a chance, but I also hate waste & I've heard wild berries are so much better than the bland store bought ones.

Oh and we had garlic galore! They must have had it in the garden before & by the time we bought the place, it spread everywhere! I pulled a garbage bag full while prepping our soil. It stunk to high heaven, so that I was pretty confident in guessing was garlic! I kept a few to replant in a pot & I ended up with one nice little bulb I just pulled. I know you're supposed to wait til fall but I'm impatient, I wanna know what's going on under that dirt! It could've been bigger had I waited, but it still taste good.

See, ya get me going & I'll never shutup!:D
 

Trax

Active Member
LOL! (garlic smell ID) It's always great to meet someone with a mouth like mine :D (I don't even shutup in my sleep)!
Congrats on all the garlic! And yeah, I do some "impatient" things too... just to learn more about plants. But yeah, you should be able to do Passiflora indoors with zero probs! Mine stayed on the floor, stayed a little too cold, and never got any good light (bad conditions + cat = fail). If you keep it warm (70's F) and give it some light (even just a sunny window) it should do great!
And def yeah, I never eat unless I totally know it's safe. Btw, I'll be getting a blackberry plant in November! I wanted Apache blackberries but found out the berries die if temps stay above 90*F for very long. I was told that Navaho blackberries would do better but would need some heavy mulch in zone 7 to survive winter. I also have raspberries (not sure which kind). They made a few berries last summer and now they're almost as tall as me and making lots of berries!
Oh, if you wanna see pics of my Passiflora, click on my username and check my gallery! I put 2 photos there (so far). :) I noticed that the seedlings aren't very big so I will def need to bring them inside for the winter (with better conditions & minus cat, lol).
 

Dee

New Member
Just looked at your pics, very nice. I'll have to post some more of mine once I get home from work. Good luck with your blackberries.
 

Crabbergirl

Super Moderator
Staff member
Thanks for the welcome. Are the seed pods the little green oval ball behind the stamen? I've noticed them once the blooms start drying up.

That is correct. Wait until they start to turn brown before removing them. You want the seed to mature before you pick them.;)
 


Gardenforums.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

Top