Passiflora caerulea

(Blue Passionflower)



Hardiness Zones:

 7a  7b  8a  8b  9a  9b

Quick Overview:

Passiflora caerulea, commonly called blue passionflower, is a twining vine that can grow to 30 feet. The shiny leaves are usually lobed with five parts, but they can have as few as three lobes or as many as nine. They are evergreen in tropical climates, but deciduous where winters are cool. The white and purple-blue flowers which appear in summer may be as large as 4 inches across. They are followed by egg-size deep orange fruits from late summer through fall.  (Courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder)

Description

Blue passionflower likes loose sandy or gravelly soils and does best when planted against a brick wall that retains heat during cold winter weather. Too much manure or compost will result in lush vegetative growth and poor flowering. Go light on fertilizer and water deeply, but infrequently; passionflowers should be encouraged to reach deep into the earth for water. When motivated to do so, they are capable of developing amazing root systems to sustain them though droughts and freezes.  Passafloras flower on new growth, so they may be pruned early in the growing season. It is best to cut some stems back nearly to the base, rather than just trim the tips. The terminal buds may be pinched out to encourage branching. Always keep some green foliage on the plant to keep the sap rising and encourage rapid regrowth. The roots may be weakened and become subject to fungal infection if too much top growth is removed at once. Don’t try to train passionflower to be too neat and compact; branches allowed to hang loose and droop a bit will be the ones most inclined to flower. Blue passionflowers will regrow from deep roots after even severe freezes.  (Courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder)

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Kiefer Nursery: Trees, Shrubs, Perennials
Passiflora caerulea
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