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  • #1

    Passionflower- growing from fruit?

    My passiflora caerulea has finally started producing fruit (which I know are edible, but they're normally grown for flowers), and I'd like to try and grow a bunch more plants.

    These are actually for my Mum, as she's the manager of a zoo with a butterfly hall, and several of the butterflies need it as a food plant, but that's not really relevant except to point out that I really do want lots! The caterpillars scoff huge plants every year, and they're so expensive to buy.

    So, has anyone grown them from fresh fruit before? I'm wondering if I need to ferment them, or can I just sow them straight?

    I only have a few fruit, and I'd like as many plants as possible (gonna try cuttings in spring as well), so I'd rather not waste seed if anyone knows what's best to do.

    Cheers for any advice!
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  • #2
    Snadger grew them this year. He should be along soon. I have one seedling lingering under my peppers though his has shot up recently.

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    • #3
      I just sowed them direct from the fruit I was eating at the time , about April I think? Normal potting compost with seeds sown 6 mm deep.
      The plants have mostly sat around all summer at about 6 inches high, but the one I have in my summerhouse has recently started to grow and is about 2 foot high with climbing tendrils. I've got a feeleing they like it hot and sunny but only seem to grow when the day length starts to shorten.

      In the cold North East I will probably need to keep them indoors all the time and see what happens.
      My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
      to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

      Diversify & prosper


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      • #4
        Cheers! Thought it was worth taking the time to check before I wasted all the seeds!

        Btw, you say you were eating one in April? If you mean seed from a bought one, I think that would be edulis, not caerulea, which aren't hardy outdoors anywhere in the UK. Caerulea doesn't taste anywhere near as good, and the fruit don't keep at all, but they're pretty tough. I know they can grow outside at least as far as South Cumbria (family friend had a huge one there), and dahn safh in Bristol they grow like weeds, there's a house down the road smothered in 'em!
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        • #5
          Originally posted by hamamelis View Post
          Cheers! Thought it was worth taking the time to check before I wasted all the seeds!

          Btw, you say you were eating one in April? If you mean seed from a bought one, I think that would be edulis, not caerulea, which aren't hardy outdoors anywhere in the UK. Caerulea doesn't taste anywhere near as good, and the fruit don't keep at all, but they're pretty tough. I know they can grow outside at least as far as South Cumbria (family friend had a huge one there), and dahn safh in Bristol they grow like weeds, there's a house down the road smothered in 'em!
          It was just a bit of daftness on my behalf to see if they would germinate. Now they've germinated I have no idea where I am going to grow them. I was hoping to grow one in a large pot in my summerhouse. From what I can gather they die off completely in winter and grow from the bottom each year? It will probably be like the Monkey nuts I've grown, they're still growing, but theres an acute shortage of nuts, apart from the one who's growing them!
          My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
          to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

          Diversify & prosper


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          • #6
            My neighbour has a huge passiflora in his garden and a lot of it is hanging over into mine. The vine is full of flower buds, flowers and green fruit almost as big as tennis balls. I don't know what passiflora it is (and I don't think my neighbour does either) so does anyone know when the fruit is ripe enough to use?

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            • #7
              Originally posted by boatsman View Post
              My neighbour has a huge passiflora in his garden and a lot of it is hanging over into mine. The vine is full of flower buds, flowers and green fruit almost as big as tennis balls. I don't know what passiflora it is (and I don't think my neighbour does either) so does anyone know when the fruit is ripe enough to use?
              If it's like this it's a caerulea. Fruit orange when ripe. Edible but very bland, not worth effort of picking!

              I seem to remember a white variant.
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              Riddlesdown (S Croydon)

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