How to Grow and Harvest the Hardy Passion Flower (Passiflora incarnata)
The Hardy Passion Flower, also widely known as Maypop, is a truly remarkable perennial vine that has intricate, enchanting blooms and yields delicious, edible fruit. For those looking to add a touch of tropical beauty and a unique culinary treat to their garden, understanding the specific growing tips and harvesting techniques for Passiflora incarnata is essential. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to successfully cultivate and enjoy this vigorous plant.
From ensuring the right light and soil conditions to mastering pruning and propagation, growing Maypops can be a rewarding experience. Whether you're interested in its striking flowers, its tart fruit, or its potential medicinal properties, Logee's is here to help you get the most out of your Hardy Passion Flower vine.
Understanding the Hardy Passion Flower's Needs
To successfully grow Passiflora incarnata, it's crucial to understand its fundamental requirements, especially regarding its unique hardiness and growth cycle. This vine is known for its resilience and can thrive across a wide range of climates if its basic needs are met. Although you can keep the plant in a pot during the winter while you're waiting for the ground to thaw, this plant will perform more vigorously when planted in the ground outside. However, if you are limited for space, Hardy Passion Flower can grow outside on a patio in a pot and with support will bloom and fruit in one season.
Sunlight and Temperature Preferences
For optimal flowering and fruit production, the Hardy Passion Flower demands full sun, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily. While it loves warmth and moderate humidity, it can benefit from some afternoon shade in extremely hot summer regions. What makes this plant truly "hardy" is its ability to withstand cold: it is cold hardy in USDA Zones 5-10. This means it can survive winters as far north as New York and Massachusetts. During colder months, the plant will go dormant, with its foliage and stems dying back to the ground. Don't despair if it seems to disappear; it will vigorously re-emerge in the spring, often as late as May, which is how it earned its common name, "Maypop."
Once the plant has gone dormant and back into the ground, mulching the area with hay, straw, or leaves will protect it from freezing too deep. In colder areas like zone 5, planting it near the foundation of a building will also provide extra warmth to it's roots in the wintertime.
Essential Growing Requirements for Maypops
Once you've established the right location regarding sun exposure, the next steps involve preparing the perfect environment for your Maypop vine to flourish. Proper soil, consistent watering, and adequate support are key to a robust and productive plant.
Soil and Watering
Passiflora incarnata thrives in all types of soil, from well-draining, loamy soil that is rich in organic matter to poor, low-nutrient soil. While it can adapt to various soil types, including clay, it performs best when the soil retains moisture without becoming waterlogged. The ideal soil pH is neutral to acidic, ranging from 5.5 to 7.5. Regular watering is essential to keep the soil evenly moist, particularly during dry spells. Its deep root system helps it access moisture, but consistent attention, will be beneficial.
Providing Sturdy Support
As a vigorous vining plant, the Hardy Passion Flower requires a strong support structure. It will readily climb fences, trellises, arbors, or pergolas. In ideal conditions, these vines can reach impressive lengths of up to 25 feet, so ensure your support system is robust enough to handle its aggressive growth and weight.
Fertilization Guidelines
Even in low-nutrient, infertile soil, the hardy passion flower is a vigorous grower and does not require fertilizer, although fertilizer will not hurt the plant. The greatest challenge is keeping it contained to the area of your yard that you want. See the pruning section below for more information.
Cross Pollinating the Passion Flower
In order for the Maypop Passion Flower to set fruit, the flowers need to be cross pollinated. This can be done with another passiflora incarnata clone, or with a passiflora caerulea such as 'Blue Bahama'. Even though the bumblebees or carpenter bees will naturally pollinate them, it's best to hand-pollinate them so you ensure that cross pollination is taking place.
Propagating and Maintaining Your Passion Flower Vine
Managing the growth of your Hardy Passion Flower and expanding your collection can be achieved through various propagation and maintenance techniques. Understanding these will help you keep your vine healthy and productive for years to come.
Pruning for Vigor and Blooms
Pruning is an important practice for managing the size of your vine, encouraging bushier growth, removing any dead or damaged sections, and promoting a greater abundance of flowers. If the vine’s aggressive growth becomes a nuisance, a heavier pruning can be performed without harming the plant. When planted, the roots grow horizontally below the surface of the soil and new shoots will sucker out of the ground further away from the location of original planting. If the plant is growing in areas of your yard that you don't want, you can mow those areas or use an herbicide on the specific sections of the plant you no longer want.
Methods of Propagation
Propagating the Hardy Passion Flower is quite versatile, possible through seeds, cuttings, or division:
- Seeds: Maypop seeds often benefit from cold stratification for about 6 months (stored in a refrigerator between 32° to 40° F) to improve germination rates. After stratification, soak the seeds for 24-48 hours. Scarification, which involves gently nicking the seed coat, can also aid germination. Fermenting the fruit pulp for 3-5 days before cleaning the seeds can also be beneficial but is not necessary. Sow seeds in spring; germination can be slow, taking weeks to even a year.
- Cuttings: Stem cuttings can be taken in late spring or early summer. Alternatively, root cuttings can be harvested in early spring or late fall and planted horizontally just below the soil surface.
- Division: Dividing established clumps is best done in early spring, when the plant begins to show signs of new growth.
Special Considerations
When growing Maypops, there are a few additional factors to keep in mind for their long-term health and your garden's harmony.
- Container Growing: While possible in large containers, special attention to winter dormancy is required. Container plants are more susceptible to root diseases during dormancy. Ensure the pot has excellent drainage and always provide strong support for the climbing vine.
- Invasive Potential: Passiflora incarnata can spread laterally through its root system, sometimes popping up in unexpected areas like lawns. It’s best planted in an area where it has ample space to spread or where its vigorous growth can be easily managed.
- Pests and Diseases: Generally, the Hardy Passion Flower is quite resistant to most pests, though you might occasionally find caterpillars eating the foliage. It can be susceptible to nematodes in certain soil conditions.
Harvesting the Delicious Maypop Fruits and Medicinal Leaves
One of the most exciting aspects of growing Passiflora incarnata is the opportunity to harvest its unique fruits and, if you're interested in herbal remedies, its leaves and flowers. Knowing when and how to harvest ensures you get the best quality and potency.
Gathering the Edible Fruit
The fruits, affectionately known as maypops, typically ripen in late summer to early fall. They are ready for harvest when they feel slightly soft to the touch and have developed a yellowish hue. Gently twist or cut the fruit from the vine to avoid damaging the plant. It's important to monitor them regularly as they ripen quickly and may fall off the vine if left too long. The maypop fruit boasts a sweet, tropical flavor, with edible seeds and pulp that are excellent for making jams, jellies, and various desserts.
Collecting Leaves and Flowers for Herbal Use
For those interested in the medicinal properties of Passiflora incarnata, it has been known that the leaves and flowers can be harvested to make calming teas. For maximum herbal potency, collect these in mid to late summer while the plant is in full bloom. Harvest in the morning after the dew has dried but before the intense heat of the day. It's crucial to research specific passionflower varieties if using for medicinal purposes, as some species may contain compounds that require specific preparation (like boiling) to render them less harmful if consumed in large quantities, particularly the leaves.
Drying for Storage: To dry the harvested leaves and flowers, spread them in a thin layer out of direct sunlight in a well-ventilated area. They are completely dry when the largest stems snap easily and the leaves crumble. This usually takes 3-7 days. Store the dried material in a cardboard box or burlap bag in a dry location, avoiding plastic containers which can trap moisture and lead to mold.