Blue Passionflower Seeds

Blue passionflower is a twining vine that can grow to 30 ft (9.1 m). The shiny leaves are usually palmately lobed with five parts, but they can have as few as three lobes or as many as nine. They are evergreen in tropical climates, but deciduous where winters are cool. The white and purple-blue flowers which appear in summer may be as large as 4 in (10.2 cm) across. They are followed by egg-size deep orange fruits from late summer through fall.
Blue passionflower likes loose sandy or gravelly soils and does best planted in old brick rubble that retains heat during cold winter weather. Too much manure or compost will result in lush vegetative growth and poor flowering. This species will flower in a small pot, but it prefers plenty of root space and will do better in a roomy container. In Zone 8-9, the ideal location is against a warm south-facing old brick wall where an overhang prevents excessive drenching by heavy rains.
Go light on fertilizer and water deeply, but infrequently; passionflowers should be encouraged to reach deep into the earth for water. When motivated to do so, they are capable of developing amazing root systems to sustain them through droughts and freezes. Passionflowers love high humidity, but they are subject to fungal diseases if they don't get good air circulation in the greenhouse. Blue passionflower does better overwintered in a cool greenhouse where it can go semi-dormant as opposed to in a hothouse where it will be tempted to put too much energy into weak off-season growth. In either case, it is important to keep the soil on the dry side in the winter.
Blue passionflower may be wound around a hoop support to keep it within bounds so that it may be grown as a houseplant in a sunny south-facing window. Passifloras flower on new growth, so they may be pruned early in the growing season. It is best to cut some stems back nearly to the base, rather than just trim the tips. The terminal buds may be pinched out to encourage branching. Always keep some green foliage on the plant to keep the sap rising and encourage rapid regrowth. The roots may be weakened and become subject to fungal infection if too much top growth is removed at once. Don't try to train a passionflower to be too neat and compact; branches allowed to hang loose and droop a bit will be the ones most inclined to flower. Passionflowers are subject to a wide array of pests and diseases, but most of them have minimal impact on well grown plants. Butterfly larvae are the exception; caterpillars readily devour the foliage of healthy mature plants.
Passionflowers like full sun and will scramble over trees and shrubs to get it.
Hardiness: USDA Zones 8 - 11. Blue passionflowers will regrow from deep roots after even severe freezes. They have been known to survive temperatures as low as 5°F (-15°C) when the ground was frozen over two feet deep! It is nevertheless important to keep the soil as warm as possible, especially in the winter greenhouse.