About
Passiflora vitifolia is a robust climbing plant characterized by its slender, fuzzy, reddish-brown stems and glossy, dark green leaves that are divided into three lobes. From early summer through autumn, it produces bowl-shaped flowers that can reach up to 20 cm in diameter, featuring filaments in shades of red, white, or yellow. The plant also yields edible fruit, which are egg-shaped, green in color, and marked with white speckles.
About the genus
Passiflora represents a group of primarily tender, climbing shrubs that utilize tendrils for support. Their foliage consists of either simple or palmately lobed leaves, which are typically evergreen. The genus is known for its strikingly structured flowers adorned with vibrant coronal filaments. These flowers are succeeded by prominent fruits, which are edible in certain species.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil type
- Chalk, Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drained
- Aspect
- West-facing, South-facing, East-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H1A
Plant details
- Plant type
- Fruit Edible, Climber Wall Shrub, Conservatory Greenhouse
- Habit
- Climbing
- Foliage
- Evergreen
- Height
- 4-8 metres
- Spread
- 0.5-1 metres
- Time to full height
- 5-10 years
- Suggested uses
- Patio and container plants, Sub-tropical
- Native to
- C America
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Grow under glass in peat-free, loam-based potting compost in full light with shade from hot sun. Water freely when in growth and keep just moist in winter
- Pruning
- Pruning group 11 or pruning group 12 in early spring
- Propagation
- Propagate by seed sown at 13 to 18°C in spring or root semi-hardwood cuttings in summer. Layering can be carried out in spring or autumn
- Pest resistance
- May be susceptible to glasshouse red spider mite, scale insects and glasshouse whitefly
- Disease resistance
- May be susceptible to honey fungus (rarely) and a virus