How to Propagate Passion Flower Vine?

The passionflower vine may look like a tropical plant but it can be grown in literally every place even in colder regions. In fact, you will often see them growing along the side of the road. 

Some of the passion flowers are invasive in warmer climates and can spread in large areas in less time.

In this post, you will learn How to Propagate Passion Flower Vines in your home garden. This is the complete guide to growing passion flowers.

So, let’s dive into:

Passion Flower Vine

How to Propagate Passion Flower Vine

source: Mark Lane

Before discussing how to care for these unique and beautiful flowers. Let’s first know who they are. Passionflower also known as “Passiflora”, is a native flower of South American and North America that has more than 500 known species. 

Their different species are considered to be annual, perennial, shrub, vine, and even trees that bear edible fruits. 

They have a special type of bloom known as exotic flowers that remain open for only about a day. The flower has a wide structure, a flat petal base with five to ten petals around a flat or reflex circle.

Quick Guide

Common NamePassionflower, passion vine, maypop, granadilla
Scientific NamePassiflora spp.
Plant typePerennial vine
Mature Size6 to 24 feet taller and 3-6 feet wider
Sun ExposureFull sun to part shade 
Soil Typeaverage, well-drained soil
Soil pHNeutral to Slightly acidic 
Bloom TimeSummer 
Flower ColorPurple, pink, white, red, blue
Hardiness Zones5 to 9 USDA 
Native AreaNorth America, South America

Types of Passion flowers

  • Scarlet flame
  • Maypop purple
  • Lady Margaret
  • Quick guide

When to grow

The best time to grow passion flowers is in spring or early fall while it’s still warm. They do not produce flowers in their first years of planting. If you plant them in the spring or fall season the plant would get ready or hardy till the next growing season.

Where to grow 

They are usually trained on a fence, trellis, or other vertical structures in the region where they grow hardy (warm climate). The plant grows like a vine and is like some kind of support to climb up. 

In the colder region or the place where they are not hardy, these plants are grown in pots and brought inside in the winter.

How to Propagate Passion Flower Vine

Most varieties of passion flowers are purchased as plants. But, they can be propagated with several methods like cutting, seeds, layering, and rhizomes.

Passion flower

source: Jim Forest

Growing them from seeds is not a good idea as it takes lots of time to germinate and further takes more time to bear flowers or fruits. The ideal way to grow in your garden is to propagate from stem cutting.

Here, is what to do:

  • Take 6-inch (15 cm) long stem cutting from a mature passion flower vine.
  • Snip off all lower leaves from the stem cuttings.
  • Cut the bottom end of the leaves with shear till white tissue gets visible. Do not use cutting that has brown spots; it might not grow roots.
  • Keep the cutting in the water glass for 2 weeks, this will lead to roots from the bottom end.
  • After that, you can plant it in a pot or even in the garden.
  • If you’re planting in a pot or container, use a medium-sized pot that has adequate draining holes in the bottom.
  • Prepare a soil mixture of a 50/50 ratio of potting mix soil and sandy soil. Sandy soil will provide good drainage and provide circulation to the plant.
  • You can also add some rocks to the bottom of the pot to enhance drainage.
  • Fill one-third of the pot with soil and sow the rooted cutting end in the soil.
  • Place the pot where it gets indirect light. Do not place the pot in direct sunlight till it produces some green leaves.
  • Water the pot regularly to keep the soil moist. 

Growing Passion Flower in pots

If you have planning to grow passion flowers from seeds.

First, you have to soak their seeds in warm water for a couple of days. Their seeds can be extremely slow to germinate soaking will help in fast germination.

You do not need to sow the seeds in the soil. Their seeds require sunlight for germination. Just place the seeds on top of the soil and gently press with thrum.

Generally, seeds germinate anywhere from 14-20 days. Do not place the pot in a sunnier spot till the plant has some leaves set.

You can also transplant it to a large pot or container when it gets 5-6 inches long. However, growing from seeds might take ages to grow flowers, so propagation from stem cutting is best.

Passionflower Vine Care

Most species of passion plants are easy to care for. In fact, they are sometimes considered invasive if left within the minimum requirement. 

Typically they can be grown in full sun or partial sunlight, with average well-drained soil.

passionflower vine

source: Shannon Kringen

Many species of this plant-like grow in sheltered plants such as fences or walls to protect from wind or harsh weather.

Here, are some factors to look after to have beautiful bloom:

Light 

Typically this flowering plant requires at least four to six hours to direct sunlight.

But, if you live in a hot climate region, the partial shade will also be appreciated. Whereas, in the cold region they need more hours of direct sunlight.

You can plant them in a spot where they get early morning sunlight and mid-afternoon shade. This is the best spot to grow them. 

Water

Water the passionflower vine thoroughly after planting. The young plant needs more water to get settled in a new place.

If you can, grow in the pot thoroughly till the water starts falling from the bottom. But, do not let them stand in water. This might damage their root and cause root rot.

Water only when you notice the soil surface of the plant gets dry. This plant is not drought tolerant, it will 2-3 times watering in a week if there is no rain.

If you cannot water them regularly, spread a deep layer of mulch around the base of the plant. This will keep the soil moist and protect the root from harsh sunlight or frost.

Watering into the base of the plant is a good practice, watering the plant increases the chance of fungal diseases.  Wet leaves and stems might get attacked by fungal diseases if they don’t plant good air circulation.

Soil

Use soil that is well-rich and well-drained. Soil pH is not important; they can thrive in neutral and acidic soil ranging anywhere between 6.1 to 7.5. 

Adding compost to the planting soil will provide more nutrients and boost plant growth. These vines need some type of support to thrive like a trellis, a structure, or even another plant.

Temperature and humidity

Passionflower vine loves warm weather and may need winter protection in the winter season. If you live cooler than zone 6, they often die in the winter unless you bring them inside the house.

Always plant in an area that protects them from wind, strong wind can damage their stems and leaves. In addition, they also like areas with moderate to high humidity. 

You can increase humidity by planting more plants around them; Maintain at least a 5-6 inches gap between each plant otherwise, plants can suffer from fungal disease.

Fertilizer

Passionflower vine is a heavy feeder and will benefit from general-purpose fertilizer with equal proportions of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. 

Add fertilizer when planting them in early spring and then repeat every four to six weeks until early autumn.

Gulf fritillary on pink zinnia

source: Vicki DeLoach

Pest and diseases

This plant contains natural chemical substances in the leaves and stems that resist many insect pests from feasting, but the vine is still suspected to be a disease.

Let’s take a look at some common problems faced by passionflower vine:

This vine is noticed to be eaten by herbivore animals like deer and rabbits. You can plant it in a protected area to prevent it from eating up.

These plants attract insect pollinators like bees and butterflies which is a joy to behold. But, there might be some infections of harmful pests like aphids as well.

Did I Miss Anything?

Now I’d like to hear from you: which tip from today’s post are you going to try first?

Or maybe, I didn’t mention your favorite plant-growing tip. Either way, let me know by leaving a comment below right now.

Before going if you want to grow beautiful flowers in your garden? Then click on these articles also.

3 thoughts on “How to Propagate Passion Flower Vine?”

  1. I have a passion fruit vine on the side of my patio. It has been growing and bearing fruits for about three years. Wgen it started to grow, it was constantly infected by the butterflies laying eggs under the leaves. The eggs changed ibto worms which ate the leaves. I used Neem oil to kill them. As of today, it is blooming again and I have to pollinite the flowers due to the lack of enough bees in the area. This is in Winter Park, Fl.

    • Even though I allow the caterpillars to thrive so that I can watch them turn into beautiful butterflies, my passion vines always come back. You might want to try and watch the transformation of caterpillar to cocoon and then observe the butterflies emerge… it’s a miracle!

Comments are closed.