My Passion flower Vine has been giving me surprise after surprise the last couple of days. First off, it's growing very well had has given me LOTS of those "crazy" blooms. And it's home to a lot of Gulf Fritillary butterflies and caterpillars. And, even though it's kinda sad, the lizards have been fascinating to watch as they snag them a meal or two. Then I spotted a cocooon. And today, while searching for more... I found FRUIT! I have never seen (or eaten) Passion Fruit before. So I was totally thrilled to have one growing. It's about the size of a cherry tomato. Should I be doing anything extra for it? Passion Fruit ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden )
Cool!!! Passionfruit: purple granadilla Type: evergreen or semi-evergreen, vine, zones 10-11 Typical yield: 6-15 pounds per plant Typical size10-50'hx6-10'wide My book says "plants must have consistent moisture or harvest and fruit will be reduced. they grow fast and thus need regular applications of fertilizer such as 10-10-10. too much nitrogen will result in too much foliage growth at the expense of the flowers. Prune to keep within bounds, to make harvesting easier and to maximize productivity. in areas with mild-winter climates prune immediately after harvesting. in areas with cool winters prune in the spring. fruits develop in the leaf axils of the current seasons growth; prune to maintain vigorous growth from the main branches and thus keep the plants productive. As a rue remove all weak growth and cut back vigorous growth by at least 1/3. unpruned vines quickly become rampant and produce fruit out of reach. there are different varieties available, purple being the sweetest. yellow is the largest, but is more acidic and less juicy. there are hybrids of the two available. yellow is used as rootstock because it is resistant to nematodes and soil disease problems." There is a little more, I repeated and just summarized a bit of it for you.
Wow, thats great. It must have liked all that Hot weather you had in texas. Hope it ripens up so you can tell us what fresh passion fruit tastes like.
Barb, Carolyn and Karma.... Cool indeed!! And yes... "lucky" is exactly the right word, because all I've done all year is just try to keep the plant alive through this drought and heat. Never ever expected it to bear a fruit. I'm going to have to do some reading about the fruit. Since I've never seen one "in person", I have no idea of what it's supposed to look like... let alone how it's supposed to taste!
Congratulations, well done, exciting to have your first passionfruit. It is difficult for us here in Aus. to understand what the 'fuss' is about.In season the vines here are dripping and the neighbours stop answering their doors when we try to get rid of them.They make lovely passionfruit butter, passionfruit topping for icecream etc. But back to your triumph, do you know what type it is? It looks pretty healthy, sometimes the parrots here will chew into them and take out the pulp! Our vines last about 5 yrs and then we replace it with a new one, I think they become exhausted from fruiting over the summer months. There is a yellow one, black[purple] and also red.There is also a passion flower vine which does not have fruit, just a beautiful deep red flower and it becomes a weed in the home garden. Did you grow it from seed or was it from the garden shop?It is always interesting to see what grows in the rest of the world,I will be watching, maybe there are some more fruit there, quick have a look!I have posted a photo of one of my golden fruit vines. ( photo / image / picture from chocolate's Garden )
Great job! But... I also had 3 fruits on my vine (caerulea, I think it is) and they were all empty. No seeds inside. Nothing! Chocolate... different places, different standards
HI,calinromania, I researched that one that you grew, it was orange colour with red pulp, I have not seen that one. If the fruit here sometimes has no pulp, it is said that it could be lack of potash.
Congrats cherylad. So nice when a plant surprises us! chocoate--That photo is amazing. The closest I have gotten to a passion fruit is the frozen juice department in the food store. It is one of the ingredients of the mixed juice blends.
Chocolate... the vine is the one with the purple flower. I got it as a cutting from an old neighbor. It has been growing around her house for years. This one lived one year in a container and was planted this past spring. I hope it ripens!
Hi Cayuga Morning,Pavlova is a sweet made from egg white which becomes meringue and shaped like a large cake and when it is cold it is covered in fresh whipped cream and loaded with any fruit available, usually mango, banana, pineapple, strawberries, kiwi fruit, etc and then[the best part]passionfruit drizzled all over it[correction...the best part is eating it] with icecream, no calories of course so dont feel guilty. I have found a photo[G]...not mine but it shows the general idea. It was first made many years ago when the famous Russian dancer visited New Zealand and so it was named after her, but other countries have claimed it as their own....I dont care who made it first, but it was an excellent idea dont you think? ( photo / image / picture from chocolate's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from chocolate's Garden )
I am literally drooling over here for something sweet now! And nothing for dessert in the cupboards. :'(
