If you need help with directions for passion flower care, then you have come to the right place.
Passion Flower Care FAQ
When Your Box Arrives
When you receive your plants in the mail they have been in the dark for days and may be exiting their box into a completely different environment than they were grown in.
Please remove the plants from the box immediately, and water them thoroughly if they are dry. Do not allow the box to sit out in the sun or cold as it can result in the plants being damaged or killed. After they arrive you will need to acclimate them to your environment.
Acclimating Your Plants
Place the plants in a shaded, sheltered area for a few days or week to allow them to acclimate. It is preferable to place the plants outside somewhere like under a tree. If you cannot keep the plants outside because it is too cold, make sure to keep them in a sunny window. If kept in a dark corner inside they will die quickly. If you do not have a sunny window, then put them under a grow light until they can be planted outdoors.
Our plants are grown in a very humid greenhouse. If you live in a dry climate please make sure the plants are sheltered from direct sun and wind while they acclimate. Make sure not to allow the soil to dry out.
Our starter plants are well rooted and ready to be transplanted into a larger pot or into the ground. Once the plants are acclimated you can repot them. The best way to know they are acclimated is by watching for new growth. When they have resumed active growth they are no longer shocked from shipping.
General Passion Flower Care Instructions
Passion flowers are generally quite easy to care for. If you have chosen a suitable location and are planting in the ground, you can likely almost forget about them once they are established.
Sun Exposure
They prefer full sun, but most will tolerate partial shade at the expense of producing fewer flowers. Passion flowers do not perform well in full shade.
Watering
Provide them with plenty of water, particularly during hot weather, however do no let them stand soaking wet as they can be susceptible to root rot. Likewise, when growing them in containers be sure to chose a container with plenty of drain holes and good drainage. Do not plant them in a self watering pot or one without drain holes.
If grown in a container they may need watering more than once a day during hot weather as it is best to avoid letting them wilt. Conversely, if you planted a small plant into a very large container, you will need water very sparingly and carefully to ensure the soil dries between watering. Otherwise you risk the plants rotting before they can get established. Once the plant has filled the pot you can resume normal watering.
Fertilizing
Feed them with a good quality fertilizer designed for blooming plants during the growing season. 5-8-4 or a similar multipurpose fertilizer is ideal. Most widely available fertilizers at garden centers and box stores will work for Passiflora. Make sure the fertilizer is for blooming plants, not lawns. Too much nitrogen will produce excessive leaf growth at the expense of blooms. Liquid, granular, or slow release fertilizer are all suitable.
Soil Types
Passion flowers are quite tolerant of a variety of soil types and infertile soil. The one feature that they are picky about is drainage. They MUST be planted in a well drained location.
If planting in a container, use a container with good drainage and any, well-draining potting mix. It can be either peat or bark mulch based as the plants do not care. If planting in the ground just make sure the area is well drained.
Overwintering Passion Flowers
At the end of the growing season if you wish to overwinter your vines, most will need to be brought inside to protect them from the cold. While some plants are hardy to zone 6 or 7, the majority will be killed by a frost.
They can be cut back significantly to reduce their mass to bring them in. Make sure you do not cut off all of their leaves, and that you reduce watering proportionally to the amount of material cut off.
Place them in a greenhouse or a sunny window for the winter months. Water only when they get dry. Also, you need to be looking for spider mites or other insect pests. While Passiflora are typically fairly trouble free outdoors, when brought inside to a dry environment pests can get out of control.
Spider mites are by far the most common pest of Passion Flowers. They appear as little tiny red dots on the backs of leaves, and can cause the top of leaves to have white dots. In a severe infestation the plant will be covered in spider webs. If you see this immediately treat the plant with something like Neem Oil. Make sure whatever pesticide you use is labeled for spider mites as they are not susceptible to many common pesticides.
In the spring gradually transition them outside. To avoid burning the leaves, either place them in the shade, or outside for only a few hours at first then gradually move them to a sunnier location.
If you live in a warmer climate or are growing a hardy passion flower planted in the ground, cut back the tops of the vines to the ground once killed by frost, and mulch the roots (particularly if your vine is marginally hardy in your zone). Once spring arrives rake off the extra mulch, or leave only a thin layer. Once the soil has warmed enough, new shoots should pop out of the ground from the roots. Don’t be alarmed if they are not up early in the spring. Passion flowers are slow to show themselves in the spring earning themselves the common name ‘maypop’.
Hardy passion flowers planted in containers will need winter protection in colder zones. Either bring them inside to a frost free area, or plant the whole container into the ground to protect the roots over the winter.
Training Your Vine
if you wish for your passion flowers to grow up onto a trellis or wall instead of sprawling on the ground you will need a trellis. Make sure you select a suitable trellis to grow your passion flower on. Passion flowers have tendrils and need small wires, strings, or stakes that they can wrap their tendrils around. Commercial trellises with small gaps or scroll work can be expensive. You can create your own trellises using bamboo stakes tied in a teepee. Wire fencing also works well.
You can prune passion flowers at any time as needed to make them fit your space. You can also direct the flexible shots in any direction you wish. Be aware when you are pruning that blooms are produced on new growth. Do not trim to often or you will cut off all your buds! Often they bloom best on the loose hanging vines, so don’t try to force the vine to be too tidy.
Container Culture
Many varieties of Passiflora perform well grown in containers. The most important feature of an appropriate container is good drainage. It must have plenty of large drain holes.
Pot the starter plant into a 6″ pot first then pot them into gradually larger pots as they outgrow the small pots. Most will ultimately need a minimum of a 3 to 5 gallon pot size. Water and fertilize regularly according to the above directions. Container grown plants will need regular fertilizing for them to perform well.
And that should get you off to a great start with your new Passiflora!
If you have any other questions please contact us and we would be happy to help.