Passiflora Species, Blue Passion Flower, Hardy Passion Flower, Blue Crown Passion Vine

On Apr 21, 2017, malsprower from Daytona, FL wrote:

A viney monster that plans to take over, if you can't grow anything, then grow this, because it will take over, I only say its positive because its guaranteed to grow. And good food for the local gulf fritillary butterflies!

Grows through a FL winter without flinching, and grows and grows and grows. I have to battle with it for my roof!

Oh and yes they pop up from the ground, many feet away, in random places.

Two more places they have popped up, I have a garden takeover, time to get more trellises......

On Apr 11, 2015, Lil_rag_doll from San Jose, CA wrote:

I'm in San Jose, California and we have quite warm temperate weather here. I planted my blue Passion flowers from seeds taken from the fruit of a blooming plant. I had them in a 2' pot for about 2 years where they only managed to get about 3' tall. When I moved I planted them in the ground and they took off running! My plant is now about 12' long and have finally started blossoming. The first year it filled in and grew, we had a whole hoard of caterpillars eat away the leaves, leaving the vines bare. I took that as an oppertunity to wind them around a chicken wire trellace so they would be up off the ground. Worked like a charm and a few weeks after having the leaves eaten off they started to fill in again. Now the blossoms have started and I'm seeing new baby caterpillars and eggs on the ... read morevines. I planted these primarily because butterflies populations are struggling in my area and I wanted to do my part to keep them thriving, and because I love the alien looking flowers and bright orange fruit. Our vines haven't fruited yet but I imagine with this first year of blossoms the fruit won't be too far behind. It's wonderful seeing the caterpillar to butterfly cycle happening right in my backyard (even if the cocoons end up all over the place along the fence and tables) and it's lovely having the butterflies around, helping to pollinate my other plants. These make great privacy covers for the pesky holes in the fence!

On Mar 7, 2014, Corsetiere from Columbus, OH wrote:

We started our passionflowers from seed and they took FOREVER to germinate! I literally was about to throw the whole thing in the trash but my boyfriend convinced me to wait another week and then they finally sprouted. So if you're thinking of giving up, just wait a while longer. It was an unusually long time before ours finally came to life! Now they are growing wildly indoors, in pots. I hope we will get some blooms this summer!

On Jul 19, 2012, AndyBonsai from other,
Germany wrote:

i have my plant for a few years now and it grows and flowers like crazy. my experience is that this plant doesn´t grow well without much heat and sun. it loves sun and heat, it seems that it can never be to hot for this plant. my plant stands in a green house and grows easily 5+m in one growing season (i´m located in the temperature climate). in the summer some places in the greenhouse are so hot that you burn your hands when you touch them. i can´t understand how plant part of this species can survive there, they look all very healthy and even seem to like it there.

i think you should be carefull where you let this species grow, because it grows quite strong and fast when it has a place with much heat and sun.
it seems to be hard to remove when you want to rid it. i... read more tried to tear out all roots in the bed (in the greenhouse) where the mother plant stood, but now i have again several shoots.
the mother plant was standing in a pod on the bed and root through the soil, that is the reason why there are also some roots/plant in it now.

in my eyes it is in the worst case a quite showy pest, nothing to worry about.

On Aug 9, 2010, papabotts from Millburn, NJ wrote:

Being a landscaper I'm always looking for interesting additions to make my clients gardens more unique. I got a blue passion flower (Passiflora Caerules) grown by Monrovia who apparently has the real secret to the finest in organic soils/growth mediums. Because only in a 5 gallon pot. I had two of them completely cover the other in growth to the point I got tired of trying to separate them and clipped the last few. They are both covered in blooms and the one I planted on a trellis 3 days ago has already grown 10 inches in 72 hours!
My only concern is the winter, when I plan to protect the heck out of it. I heard if you get a used aquarium it is a good substitute for a cold frame, (because my clematis and trumpet vine survive winters just fine). But if anyone wants to start with a ... read moregood specimen instead of chancing to grow them from seed, (this way you are sure of plant variety), get the one from Monrovia growers. They are awesome! I'll keep you posted on their winter survival.

On Aug 15, 2009, SusanLouise from Lincoln, NE (Zone 5b) wrote:

I thought this plant was lovely, but it didn't attract as many butterflies to it as I was hoping it would...since I purchased it for the sole purpose of it being a host plant. Although we had several males of various Fritillary butterfly species (Variegated, Regal, and the Great Spangled), there were no females around to lay eggs. I will experiment next year with this Hardy Blue Passion Vine on one side of our yard and the Maypop Passion Vine on the other side and see if there is a difference in it's attractiveness for the butterflies next year...it should prove to be interesting!

On Sep 25, 2008, chicochi3 from Fayetteville, AR (Zone 6b) wrote:

This plant is terribly invasive here. I'm not certain if the pretty flowers are worth the fight to keep the vines out of places where I don't want them.

On Dec 29, 2007, arthulse from Weaverville, NC wrote:

Purchased this at a nursery where it was listed as maypops. It wasn't. Maypops is a host plant for the Gulf Fritillary and is a native to the southeast. Blue passion flower is introduced and I have found it to be very aggressive. In one season we had plants emerging as much as 8 feet away from the parent. Flowers only lasted a day and nothing pollinated them. Maypops is a much better choice since it is native and is a host plant for butterflies.

On Aug 10, 2007, VaBeachLil from Virginia Beach, VA (Zone 7b) wrote:

We planted our Passion flower, from a two gallon pot we purchased at the nursery. I planted it straight from the pot into my garden, full sunshine in May. At first it just sat there and did nothing, I worried It was going to die. Then about a month later It took off an started growing like wild fire, the trellis I had it on was overtaken in about 45 days. Now I fight with it each day to keep it out of my Azalia bushes. It blooms daily. I am dissapointed that the blooms only last a day though. They have no fragrence here. But the blooms are lovely. I am concerned with how to care for it over the winter, and I am going to have to move it to the fence to give it more room of it's own and to let it climb. It is fun to watch.

On Jul 30, 2007, dragonplant from Chapel Hill, NC (Zone 7a) wrote:

I am in zone 7, NC. I recommend it! But give it room. I sprouted one seed of this and planted it in the ground, in good soil mixed with some sand for drainage, in full sun, and next to a pond. It gets watered every 2 days by a watering system, and it grows like a weed!

It is evergreen here, and its a huge green mob that has taken over a rosemary bush and the entire deck railing and is coming up from between the floor boards, and popping up in the dirt on the other side of the pond. We have to cut it back once a week or its reaching across the walkway by the pond. Its making its first flowers now, in its second year, and its got a ton of them. It doesn't seem to get any diseases, and though it seems the fritillary butterfly caterpillars are using it as a host plant, ... read morethey don't eat enough of it to even be noticeable.

Cuttings root easily if kept moist and left short with only 1 leaf on them (I've had less success with cuttings that have more than 1 leaf). I've tried both with rooting hormone and without, and saw no difference in results.

On Jun 2, 2007, ladie_39 from victoria, BC (Zone 6b) wrote:

i live on vancouver island in the great pacific northwest, and i have had WONDERFUL success over the past 3 years with my passionflower vine, until THIS YEAR..it is now june 2, 2007 and it is still a mass of wood stock not even a hint of green there, i am wondering if i should cut it back NOW, or perhaps fertilize it and see what happens with it...any help with regards to this would be appreciated...thanks marianne

On Jul 12, 2006, shellabella from West Central, FL (Zone 9b) wrote:

I purchased this plant last April. I planted it against a fence where it gets am sun and late afternoon shade. It 's growing very well, but it is still a smalish size-4ft and it now has 12 blooms at various stages of development. I got this one because I read that it is useful for polinating the tasty fruit bearing varieties.The butterflies also love it .

On May 12, 2005, twenty2libras from Greenwell Springs, LA (Zone 8b) wrote:

LOVE this vine, roots so easy, prolific bloomer, does great in containers with a trellis.

On Jul 24, 2004, hollyg from Clinton, LA wrote:

I purchased a plant about four years ago and lost it over the winter.
My father told me it used to grow in the woods when he was a child and they called it "Maypop". He died at age 87 three years ago.
Today my husband and I found the vine in several places on property we have purchased and in one area the vine has fruit. The fruit is green now and about two inches long. I am very excited about finding it and will try to get it started in our yard.

On Jun 6, 2004, nick89 from Tallahassee, FL (Zone 8b) wrote:

I got a blue passionflower through the mail a year ago and planted it. Most of the stem died in the winter but it sprung back and is now over four feet! Flower buds are appearing. A more attractive kind than the native but gulf fritillaries don't seem to like it as much. A great vine for the garden but does have an extensive amount of roots and may climb onto nearby plants, so give it a trellis and some space.

On Nov 1, 2003, wnstarr from Puyallup, WA (Zone 5a) wrote:

Edgewood, Washington
Being a child of the late 40's I remember the passion vine as a plant that had me hooked on horticulture as it was so exotic and strange. Resembling an alien from the Saturday science fiction movies. Have to laugh, when we would visit family in warm California they all called it the "shithouse vine". As it was so prevalently grown to cover outhouses. This plant still has me under its spell 50 years later.

On Oct 10, 2003, dahlia_guy from Saint Helens, OR wrote:

Fun plant. This plant needs full sun in cooler climates to flower well. Can be invasive but is also very easy to control by cutting back runners every few weeks. I grow mine right in the middle of my main garden bed on a trellis.

This is also a very easy plant to root via stem cuttings. Simply take a 8-12" cutting of a mid season vine and stick it in a glass of water. Will root in approx. 4 weeks.

On Jul 7, 2003, Jamie51 from Conroe, TX wrote:

It grows real well in Texas, just be sure it doesn't get near other plants in your garden because the runners will take them over. Ours grows really well on the edge of the woods and does great without any care. The flowers grow hardy but with little or no smell it seems, but the flowers are a nice touch as a border on the edge of the woods surrounding the house.

On Apr 20, 2003, Stonebec from Fort Worth, TX (Zone 7b) wrote:

Mine has been growing well on a fence for three years. Very hardy since my dog digs part of it up every year and chews the stem. I replant it and it's ok. This is a specific food plant for the caterpillar stage of the Gulf Fritillary butterfly. The coccoons look like twisted dried leaves stuck on the fence. I harvest flowers before caterpillars come and after their season.

The flowers feel almost like plastic. When dried, they have a mild cucumber scent. Tea from flowers or leaves can be used as a sedative or sleep aid. Works well in about 20 minutes with no side effects. Flower is interesting when dried face down with light weight applied.

The plant was named by missionary monks in South America because the parts resemble items from Crucifixion. Mine has nev... read moreer fruited but it's a very striking flower, much admired by neighbors. Great for show-n-tell at school.