About
Vigorous, large, semi-evergreen to evergreen climber about 10m tall, with twining tendrils and mid-green, 5-7 deeply lobed leaves. Unripe fruit is toxic. The pulp in the fruits only can be eaten when they are fully ripe and yellow-orange. Summer flowers to 10cm in width, are white, with white coronal filaments, and followed by orange ovoid fruits 4cm long.
About the genus
Passiflora are mostly tender tendril-climbing shrubs, with simple or palmately-lobed, generally evergreen leaves and showy flowers of distinctive structure with often colourful coronal filaments, followed by conspicuous fruits, edible in some species
Growing conditions
SunlightFull sun, Partial shade
Soil typeChalk, Loam, Sand
Soil pHAcid, Alkaline, Neutral
Soil moistureMoist but well-drained
AspectSouth-facing, West-facing
ExposureSheltered
UK hardinessH4
Plant details
Plant typeClimber Wall Shrub
HabitClimbing
FoliageSemi evergreen, Evergreen
Height8-12 metres
Spread4-8 metres
Time to full height5-10 years
Suggested usesCity and courtyard gardens, Coastal, Cottage and informal garden, Sub-tropical
ToxicityFruit are ornamental - not to be eaten. Wear gloves and other protective equipment when handling Pets: Fruit are ornamental - not to be eaten - see the HTA guide to potentially harmful plants for further information and useful contact numbers
Care notes
CultivationFast-growing climber for sun or partial shade, thrives in moist but well-drained soil. In cold areas, grow in a container and overwinter indoors. Note that due to its vigorous nature in some gardens it has the potential to become a nuisance. See passion flower cultivation
PruningPruning group 11 or pruning group 12 if necessary, in early spring
PropagationPropagate by seed, semi-hardwood cuttings or by layering in spring or autumn
Pest resistanceMay be susceptible to glasshouse red spider mite, glasshouse whitefly, mealybugs and scale insects under glass
Disease resistanceMay be susceptible to honey fungus (rarely) and a virus