Flower growing in the garden or conservatory Perfect as a Garden flower, passiflora are a joy to grow in any flower garden or conservatory easy to cultivate from seed and an absolute joy to watch growing thoughout the gardens cycle. We have a great range of flower seed to choose from as well as two excellent books on the subject. Visit our online shop to view our gift ideas.
Passion flowers are in the main very easy to grow, a delight to look at and smell, they are a joy to grow and provide a stunning flower for any garden or conservatory.
Passion Flower Seed should be sown as soon as possible, and not stored for sowing at a later date. Seeds are best germinated in a seed compost of any type, at a high temperature: 79F (26C) Constant, or 68F (20C) for 16hrs and 86F (30C) for 8hrs each day.
Printable Cultivation Sheet here
After germination a reduced temperature of 60F(16C) to 70F(21C) is advised before potting.
In the wild, Passion flowers grow where the ground is exceptionally well drained - the slopes of the high Andes, the rainforest floor, even (as with P. incarnata and P. lutea in roadside rubble in quite arid areas. Therefore the ideal compost is free-draining soil-based mixture of equal parts sharp sand or gravel, medium or coarse peat and loam, rather than a peat-based compost which can easily become waterlogged.
By the same token, plants grown outdoors in your garden need well-drained dryish soil which warms up quickly in spring.
Passion Flowers can be difficult to overwinter because their roots are prone to rot if kept cold and wet.
Established plants have a better chance of overwintering than very young ones.
In your flower garden Passion flowers can stand short periods of frost. If long periods are expected a little heat may be needed to prevent the roots becoming frozen. In the conservatory I find it better, and less expensive, to put a little heat around the roots of tender plants than to raise the air temperature, which only encourages the already stressed plants to photosynthesise, putting added strain on the root system and causing the leave to dehydrate and wither.
A single kilowatt electric heating cable burind in the growing bed or compost does far more to protect plants than a three kilowatt fan heater left on for a similar period.
All Passion flowers have comparatively small root systems and, unless a massive plant is required, they grow a fair size in a 25cm (10 inch) pot. Like many climbers, Passion flowers are greedy feeders when growing rapidly during the long summer days.
Potting on as soon as necessary into a good well-drained compost and regular feeding with high-potash liquid fertiliser pays dividends.
