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How to Grow Passionfruit |
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Home Page Since they were first described in Europe in the 16th century, passionflowers have held a special fascination among plant collectors for their bold, beautiful, complicated blossoms and delectable Passionfruit
Passiflora: Passionflowers of the World Most are perennial climbers, but some are trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants, or even annuals, and all lend a dramatic, tropical flavour to any situation. Since they have such a broad range of cultivation requirements, passionflowers can be grown by just about anyone, and cold-hardy species can be grown outdoors year-round.
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Home Page > Garden & Outdoor Living
Passionfruit are semi-evergreen climbing perennial vine with edible fruit making it a welcome addition to the home garden. There are over 400 species of passiflora cultivated for their large, intricate attractive exotic flowers ranging in colour from white and pink to red and purple. Many varieties have edible fruit but most are grown for ornamental purposes. Young plants can be purchased from a garden nursery or grown from seed germinated at around 24°C (75°F) covered lightly with soil. Once established in the garden new plants can often be found growing from the seeds of fallen fruit. The more common Passion fruits include:
Golden Passionfruit is a must for tropical fruit growers. A vigorous, fast growing tropical vine that produces loads of sweet fragrant flowers, followed by large, oval golden passiflora fruits with a delicious sweet/tart tropical taste. The flowers have extravagant filaments banded, red, blue violet and white and the petals are plum red to purple. This variety of Passionfruit produces more and larger fruit than Passiflora edulis. Banana Passionfruit (P. mollisima) is a hardy variety but the fruit is not as flavoursome as the black or Golden varieties. The Banana Passionfruit has a pretty shell pink flower about 80cm across and a calyx tube about the same length. The fruit is yellow and banana shaped between 7.5cm (3 inches) to 10cm (4 Inches) long. The secret to a good crop is the cater to their site and soil demands, feed them well and make sure they get plenty of water during the growing season. Passionfruit climb by tendrils and quickly cover an unsightly fence. Provide a support at least 1.5m to 1.75 m high such as a trellis, arbour, pergola or wire strung between posts where the breeze can pass through the foliage, rather than against a solid wall.
Passionfruit are sub-tropical's from brazil so have poor tolerance to frost. Plant in a warm, sheltered, frost free position in moist soil and keep well watered until established. Young (and mature vines) can be protected from frost by covering with a frost cloth. Frost cloth lets in light, but keeps frost off plants and is very effective. It can be left on for a period of time or removed each day. Alternatively, consider planting your Passionfruit vine in a container that can be moved before frost sets in. If growing your Passionfruit vine in a container it will need a half wine barrel size container when well grown. Passionfruit are fast growing and need a lot of nitrogen for new growth and the flowers to form so require regular feeding - at least four times during the growing season. Avoid applying fertiliser in autumn as this will promote soft growth that will not be adequately hardened off before winter. Water well during the growing season and mulch annually with animal manure or compost, being careful to keep the stem area free. This will help conserve water during the hot summer months and helps with flower and fruit production. Ammonium Sulphate may also be beneficial in the warmer months of the first year of growth. Expect your first crop of fruit in about 18 months from time of planting. Mature vines may need pruning annually to improve crop size. Most vines only last 5 or 6 years and sometimes up to 8 years before becoming exhausted so be sure to have a new one growing to replace the old one. Softwood and semi-ripe vine cuttings can be taken in late spring to autumn to replace older vines. Pests and Problems Snails, slugs and sap sucking insects can be a problem. Control any pests and diseases as necessary. Greenhouse Whitefly Greenhouse whitefly is a global pest that can descend on outdoor plants during the summer months. Adults lay the eggs on the growing tips of plants on the underside of new leaves that hatch into whitefly scale a small larvae that sucks the sap out of leaves. The sugary sap from the leaves is excreted as honeydew in which black sooty mould can grow. Blast away adult whitefly with a hose and wipe infected leaves with a soapy rag at night. If the population is large use Pyrethrum spray or Neem oil on the underside of the leaves to control numbers and break the breeding cycle. Companion plantings of French (targetes) Marigolds can be helpful. Marigolds are strongly aromatic plants with a pungent odour that hide the scent of the Passionfruit plant making it less attractive as a source of food or an egg laying site. Nausturtiums and Curry Plant (helichrysum angustifolium) are also a deterrent for whitefly in the garden or greenhouse. Flowers fall off without forming fruit One of the frustrating problems I have had this year is due to the flowers falling off before the fruit formed due to a particularly rainy, windy start to the growing season. Passionfruit are insect pollinated by bees (and other insects) that collect the pollen and nectar that is high in sugar. Poor weather conditions such as wind and rain can cause a lack of bees out gathering pollens and nectars. Another contributing factor is that the pollen grains tend to burst in wet weather, so cool damp conditions inhibit flower production. As weather conditions improved the vine produced more flowers and eventually a good crop of fruit.
In cool, wet conditions growth on the vine can slow down and disease symptoms become more obvious with a number of conditions causing leaf spot or worse still kill the leaves and shoots on what was otherwise a healthy plant. Grease spot, is a bacterial disease that can affect leaves, stems and fruit. It is most active in autumn and winter but other diseases' can also cause spotting and leaf drop at other times. Grease spot on the leaves causes irregular olive-green to brown lesions, often surrounded by a light halo. In severe cases that plant can have severe leaf drop. The first signs of this infection on young stems are dark green, small, water soaked spots that quickly turn into brown spots. Eventually these spots can form right around the stem causing the shoot to die. Fruit infected drop prematurely and rots. To help avoid fungal diseases don't water plants overhead during the summer months. keep the foliage as dry as possible. Prune out infected shoots as soon as they appear and clean up fallen leaves and damaged fruit regularly from under the vine. Regular spraying with a copper fungicide helps control many leaf spot diseases. Cover all the foliage with the spray for best protection. From the Kitchen Passionfruit are an excellent source of vitamin C, A and Potassium and delicious when eaten raw, added to fruit salad, on pavlova or ice cream, or used to make drinks, deserts, cakes and pies. Passionfruit Marshmallow Whip 1 cup marshmallows Put marshmallows, water and lemon juice into saucepan and slowly melt. Remove from heat and let cool. Whip the cream and add to marshmallow mixture. Whip the pulp of the Passionfruit into the mixture. Tip into a serving bowl or individual dishes. Top with extra whipped cream and a cherry. Passionfruit Topping Passionfruit topping is delicious when used over cheesecakes, ice-cream or as a spread. 1 Cup Passionfruit pulp Cut Passionfruit in half and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Put into a saucepan with the sugar and bring to boiling point. Pour into a sterilised jar and seal. If you use less sugar it is advisable to boil the Passionfruit and sugar for 5 minutes before bottling. Passionfruit Crunch 170 gram butter Filling: 90 gram icing sugar Cream butter, icing sugar, add Passionfruit pulp and sift in flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Place teaspoonfuls on a cold greased tray and bake for 15 minutes at 180°C (350°F). When cool join together with filling made by creaming icing sugar, butter and Passionfruit pulp together. Passionfruit Cake 60 gram butter Icing: 1 cup icing sugar Cram butter and sugar, beat in eggs. Combine Passionfruit juice with cold water and mix. Fold in sifted flour, cornflour and baking powder. Pour into a greased and floured (or non-stick) 20 cm cake tin and bake at 190°C (370°F) for 30 minutes. For the icing, add sufficient boiling water to the icing sugar to bring it to spreading consistency. Mix in Passionfruit pulp. Pour over cooled cake and cover the sides. Home Page - Home Decorating - Home Improvement and Woodworking - Art Gallery - Photography - Garden and Outdoor Living - Crafts and Hobbies - Health and Fitness - Kitchen and Cuisine - Beauty and Fashion - Writing and Publishing - Living Mindfully - Christmas Copyright © 2001-2010 Netwrite-Publish.com
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Passiflora Passionflower
Black or Purple
Passionfruit (P. edulis) is a very hardy vine that grows well in a
warm, sunny or partially shaded site sheltered from the wind. P. edulis
is a fast growing
vine with showy medallion like flowers of purple, blue and white with
radiating filaments and produce large numbers
of egg shaped black or purple acid/sweet fruit.
Passionfruit will tolerate most soil types. Grow in well drained soil to
prevent problems with root rot. To test your site before planting apply
this test. Dig a hole 30cm x 30cm x30cm and fill hole with water.
Drainage is sufficient if the water has drained away completely in one
hour. Soil can be enriched by adding compost and/or manure as well as a
specially blended citrus tree fertiliser for the best results. If you
have clay soil consider planting your vine in a raised bed enriched with
plenty of well-rotted compost before planting.
Spotty diseased leaves
