Passion fruits and passion fruit are among the more exotic types of fruit in this country due to their commercial cultivation only in tropical countries. With good care, you can also grow the delicious fruits yourself and grow them in pots.
How to grow and propagate passion fruit?
To grow passion fruit plants, you need a bright spot, well-drained substrate and should sow the seeds indoors between March and April. For propagation you can use cuttings or pollinate the self-fertile flowers manually.
How do passion fruit plants grow?
Basically, there are different growth forms in the more than 530 subspecies of the genus Passiflora. However, they are predominantly perennial plants with a climbing growth habit that can also woody into shrubs and trees. The impressive flowers of the passion flower can grow at different heights on the plant.
Which location to choose for growing passion fruit?
Since the passionflower is a heat-loving plant with great growth potential, you should choose the brightest possible location for the plant. Since even frost-hardy varieties are only partially winter-resistant in this country, they are usually grown as potted plants and overwintered indoors. During the summer months, the passion flower feels very comfortable in a sunny spot on the balcony or terrace if there is sufficient water supply.
How to sow passion fruit seeds?
You can buy seeds (€2.00 on Amazon) from garden shops, but then you have to check the edibility of the fruits of a type of passionflower based on the description. However, it is also possible to use the seeds from purchased fruits for sowing. To do this, the seeds must first be soaked in warm water, then the pulp can be rubbed off more easily. This cleaning is important because the adhering pulp can cause the seeds to become moldy. The cleaned seeds can then be dried for storage or sown fresh in potting soil. The seeds should be thinly covered with soil as they germinate in the dark.
Can you prefer and transplant passion flowers?
When growing passionflowers, it is common practice to initially grow the plants on the windowsill. After the germination phase of around three weeks, it takes some time until the first leaves and the root system have developed well. If you would like to grow passion fruits yourself, start growing them indoors around March or April. Then in May the plants will be large enough to be transplanted into a larger pot outdoors when the temperatures are sufficiently warm.
How are passion flowers propagated?
In addition to sowing, you can also propagate passionflower through cuttings. To do this, cut off a few shoot tips, each with one or two leaves and at least one sleeping eye. Then let them root in a glass of water or in evenly moist soil.
What is the passion fruit season like in this country?
There are basically three options for cultivating passion fruit, these are:
- growing completely indoors as a houseplant
- growing in a year-round temperature-controlled greenhouse
- the culture as a frost-free overwintered potted plant
Some subspecies of the genus Passiflora are conditionally frost hardy down to around 15 degrees below zero. Since it can get significantly cooler in this country at times in winter, staying outdoors all year round without special weather protection is only possible to a limited extent.
Which soil is optimal for the passion flower?
A permeable substrate that can be enhanced by adding perlite is suitable for growing passion flowers.
Tips & Tricks
Only with really good care and the necessary conditions can a passion flower bear really ripe fruit. If you only have one plant, you can also pollinate the self-fertile flowers manually with a brush.
