I had a great time watching the caterpillars devour the leaves of this plant all through last summer and into the fall when the last of the cats headed south to overwinter under fallen leaves or in the ground. This is the first Passion Flower vine I have had that survived the cats so now I need to know if/when it returns this year does it come from new vines coming from the roots or do the old vines sprout new leaves? It is desperate need of a good trim but not all the way to the ground, just a neater look would be nice. The growers tag gives the hardiness zones 9-11 but also states that it is cold hardy down to 20-30 degrees. Even with the ice and snow we only had a couple of nights when the temp dropped below 20 so I am hoping that it was covered with enough mulch and dropped leaves to be protected.
Mine didn't get devoured and it kept alot of it's leaves throughout the winter (it was in the garage). It appears to be putting on new leaves on the old vines which have grown a few inches in the last week or so. I believe FlowerFreak was also growing some... he may be able to help you more.
I'm pretty sure they come back from the roots unless kept in a warmer place where it won't die back fully like in Cherylad's garage. I have seen them cut back all the way to the ground during the Summer when they are growing and they just sent up a new vine. Although different varieties or species may have different growing techniques. I do know that you can prune them while they are growing and it won't hurt them any. You might be ok trimming yours back, but I would wait until you start to see new growth (either on the vine itself or from the roots) before you do anything just to be safe.
Yeppers, come back from roots. Mine already have some blooms on them, thanks to a deep rain a few weeks ago. You are lucky Toni...I don't seem to get cats on mine. Butterflies go for my edulis and incarnata instead, perhaps because so many readily available and they have a choice.
Since it is a hot weather plant, I am hoping the lack of green on it means it is waiting for temps hotter than 85 degrees before coming back Bodhi, I don't know of many butterflies who require it as a caterpillar host except the Gulf Fritillary and mine was loaded with those cats all summer. I had a good time counting them every day, finding more eggs and talking to them....without the neighbors hearing me of course. Next time the plant shows up at the garden centers I will buying several of them for all over the front and back yards.
Toni... I started mine from a little cutting from an old neighbor's HUGE plant. It didn't require anything special... just put it in some dirt and give it some water. It flowered the following year and is doing very well since I planted it.
Unfortunately, according to the grower information I am two zones north of it's recommended northern most hardiness zone. But according to other info I found I am borderline at 7b If no green by the next full moon I may have to get out there and do some fancy dancing to convince it to come back for me.
