Passiflora

[foxd]

So far no sign that any of the seeds are Passiflora lutea, but I do have what is now obviously P. suberosa. (aka Corky-Stem Passiflora) No sign yet of blooms on the others to aid identification.

The seedlings I've raised of Passiflora incarnata are blooming and the genetic variety now available for pollination has boosted fruit production. The fruit produced seems to be developing some weight rather than just being mostly hollow with a bit of pulp. Now if I can keep them from the local wildlife...

Years ago I managed to germinate some old Passiflora caerulea on the mistaken notion it would survive our climate. I tried several times over the years to get it established. It never bloomed and died during the Winter. Last year I planted it without save a division. It survived. No blooms though.

[Alan_L]

Dan -- the two P. incarnata plants (from seed) you gave me last fall are doing amazingly well this year. Flowering like crazy. Love these flowers!

[foxd]

Alan -- Glad to hear they're doing well. Yeah, the flowers are just amazing on these plants, the bumble bees and hummingbirds just go nuts over them. Have they produced any fruit yet? I'm trying to figure out the best way to keep the local wildlife from taking off with it. So far I had been putting individual nets around each fruit, but this year there is a lot developing.

[needmore]

Dan, Menards has 'Passion vine' - no species name I could see - marked down 75% from their $18 price so for $5 you could see what it is.

[foxd]

Dan, Menards has 'Passion vine' - no species name I could see - marked down 75% from their $18 price so for $5 you could see what it is.

Brad, I did look at it the last time I was there. IIRC it looked like Passiflora caerulea, which normally doesn't survive here. In fact, the one I did have survive shouldn't have.

[Alan_L]

Several fruits Dan, especially on the potted one on the house. They feel really light though -- maybe they'll be pulpy like yours were. How do you know when they're ripe (or should be ripe)?

[foxd]

Several fruits Dan, especially on the potted one on the house. They feel really light though -- maybe they'll be pulpy like yours were. How do you know when they're ripe (or should be ripe)?

They get heavier when they develop pulp, but some never do. Some only develop a little bit of pulp from which I've been able to save seeds.

I'm still figuring out how to judge ripeness, but they are supposed to take on a yellowish color when ripe. Have had to let some of the fruit age a while after being picked before I ate it. Kind of like eating pomegranate.

[foxd]

Several fruits Dan, especially on the potted one on the house. They feel really light though -- maybe they'll be pulpy like yours were. How do you know when they're ripe (or should be ripe)?

They get heavier when they develop pulp, but some never do. Some only develop a little bit of pulp from which I've been able to save seeds.

I'm still figuring out how to judge ripeness, but they are supposed to take on a yellowish color when ripe. Have had to let some of the fruit age a while after being picked before I ate it. Kind of like eating pomegranate.

Also the fruit surface becomes wrinkled, which seems to be a better indicator than turning yellow. I suspect the ripeness description may depend on the amount of pulp.

In Googling to try and find out more about judging ripeness I found that there has been some research on Passiflora incarnata as a food crop. The fruit definitely has a good taste to it and there is archeological evidence that it has been cultivated by some Indian cultures.

The main pollinator is the carpenter bee and they are really enthusiatic about the flowers. Yesterday I saw one hovering and waiting for the bee in front of it to finish with a flower that was partially open. The bee appeared to be wallowing in the flower. It is not unusual to see several bees in one flower at the same time. I noticed that I did not start getting fruit until the carpenter bees started showing up. I now know the difference between a carpenter and a bumble bee.

[Alan_L]

Interesting that you mentioned this, as this morning I saw two "sleeping" carpenter bees on a single flower. Waiting for sunlight to warm them up I guess.

[foxd]

Interesting that you mentioned this, as this morning I saw two "sleeping" carpenter bees on a single flower. Waiting for sunlight to warm them up I guess.

Yes, I've seen them do that too of the morning.

Among my Google searches about passion flower fruit I found a reference to a book titled A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf by John Muir, where he describes it as "the most delicious fruit I have ever eaten." The common name he used was Apricot vine.

[needmore]

When I lived in Hawai'i -where they are invasive vines- I quickly discovered that the flavor is perhaps my favorite of anything one can consume. They are still edible once the skin wrinkles but that is getting late in the game so try to get them ahead of that. Slice 'em in half, loosen the pulp and slurp 'em up. Quite tropically tart the pulp is used in shave ice syrup, jams, baked good, sorbet...and on - the plant is called lilikoi in the islands.

I have several flying dragon fruits this year so wanna make a trade?

[foxd]

I have several flying dragon fruits this year so wanna make a trade?

Sure! It looks like I will have plenty of fruit for trade this year. I also have a number of Passiflora incarnata seedlings if you are interested. Or you can try growing your own from the seeds....

[foxd]

Fruit are still not ripe yet, I've been checking them daily. I'd forgotten to check one vine for fruit until last night. All the fruit on it has three stripes on it. Interesting.

[Alan_L]

I really don't know how to tell if they're ripe. Some critters pulled a couple of the green fruits down and had ripped them open. Was mostly empty except for the seeds which had a "jelly" covering. Smelled *really* good.

[needmore]

Ripe when yellow or purple depending upon species, still edible when wrinkled but that is a tad overripe.