Growing and Choosing the Best Passion Flower Varieties for Your Garden

These exotic-looking perennials are hardier and easier to care for than you may have thought

There is much to love about passion flowers(Passifloraspp . and cvs . , Zones 6–11 ) . There are over 550 unlike mintage in the genus ; some are shrubs and trees , but the ace that are most familiar to gardeners are the tropical - sounding , tendril - charge , mounting , flower vine . These are the mania flower varieties that come into my class of favorites . Some of these beauties even produce deliciously complex - flavored , fragrant , sweet - bawd fruit .

The vine of passion flowers itself is quite lovely , with profuse , shining fleeceable leaf clothing the foresighted stem , and beautiful gyrate tendrils for clinging . But it is the extraordinary flowers that make this vigorous perennial unfeignedly bear out . The blooms of any Passion of Christ flower are quite wondrous , with such a unequaled form and physical bodily structure that 17th century Christian missionaries visiting Mexico and Central America were inspire to adopt this extraordinary flower as a symbol of the last day of Jesus with the Latin wordpassio , which imply “ suffering . ” That aside , the flower are stunning , and they occur in an array of chromaticity and form , each one positively mesmerizing !

Pollinators love them too ; bee , butterflies , WASP , bats , and hummingbirds all gossip , seduce a passion flower a mythological addition to anyhabitat garden . The vine are also host to the larva of several butterfly stroke species , most specifically the gulf checkered lily in my geographical zone ( 9b ) . The Caterpillar feed on the leaves , occasionally coming closely to decimate the plant , but it always reverberate back attractively once the caterpillars pupate and become butterfly .

Many varieties of passion flower are usable for the house garden , with blooming in tint of blue , purple , pinkish , violent , coral , ashen , and even yellow . I ’m currently on the hunt for chickenhearted - flower passion peak ( P. lutea ) . Below are my current favorites , all of which are fast develop , vigorous , evergreen in my region , and as bombastic as 30 feet tall or panoptic .

‘ Lavender Lady ’ passion flower

( P.×alato‘Lavender Lady ’ )

This flora carry comparatively simple , dark-skinned lavender flowers up to 4 column inch wide with deep purple filaments in the center .

dreary passion prime

( P. caerulea )

A unique oblation , this vine has spectacularly ornate bloom of youth , with frilly out petals and sepal surround a complex heart and soul hoop of blue , clean , and purple .

‘ Coral Glow ’ rage blossom

( P.‘Coral Glow ’ )

The 5 - inch - wide flush of this variety are relatively simple yet absolutely gorgeous . Hot pink – coral pointed flower petal radiate out from a small purple ring that surrounds the cardinal filaments .

‘ Ava ’ passion flower

( P. manicata‘Ava ’ )

This might be my absolute favorite ! Highly ornamental lustrous pink blooms smother the ultra - vigorous vine . These flowers give agency to soft , green - gold , nut - form yield . It taste like a meld of melon vine , citrus , and pineapple . monition : Possums adore the yield of ‘ Ava ’ cacoethes bloom almost as much as I do .

‘ Frederick ’ heat flower

( P. edulis‘Frederick ’ )

Another yield producer , the fabulous ‘ Frederick ’ is beyond astounding , with its extraordinarily intricate cream - and - blue blooms filled with ruffled filaments . These are abide by by round , purple - skin oblong fruit .

Passion blossom grow apace and can reach towering heights . A good support system is essential for help them make their potentiality . Here , the variety ‘ Ava ’ quickly spread over a chain - link fence to provide much required screening .

How to Grow Passionflowers

Though they may be exotic to look at , passion efflorescence are easy to grow and will rapidly climb , twine , and sputter up pergolas , treillage , arbor , or fences . Because of this fast growing , they allow quick block out wherever it is require as long as their relatively minimal pauperism are meet . Here are a few tips to keep cacoethes flush well-chosen .

And to discuss these plants or ask other gardening questions , shoot the breeze with the author on theGardening Answers meeting place .

desire more information of cool flowering vines?Go here .

To read more on Pacific Northwest gardening , go here .

— Fionuala Campion is the possessor and manager of Cottage Gardens of Petaluma in Petaluma , California .

Photos : Fionuala Campion

Passiflora Lavender Lady

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Blue passion flower

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