Passiflora incarnata (Wild Passion Flower)

Native to the Southeastern U.S., Passiflora incarnata (Wild Passion Flower) is a vigorous, tendril-climbing vine with fascinating fragrant flowers. Showy, 3 in. wide (7 cm), the petals and sepals subtend a fringe of wavy pinkish-purple filaments. The flowers attract a wide range of pollinators, including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. This plant is also a larval host plant for several butterflies, particularly the Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae). It plays a vital role in their lifecycle, especially during the larval stage.

The attractive blooms are followed by egg-size orange-yellow fruits called maypops. Edible, the fruits can be eaten fresh off the vine or made into jelly. Songbirds, small mammals, and some larger mammals may eat them. The foliage consists of three-lobed, dark green leaves and is deciduous. This vine climbs with axillary tendrils or sprawls along the ground. It is the hardiest of the passion flowers.

• Blooms during warm weather from mid-summer to early fall
• Thrives in full sun or part shade in average, moist to occasionally dry, well-drained soils. Roots appreciate a loose mulch.
• Easy to grow, this twining vine can quickly grow up to 6-8 ft. long (180-240 cm). Don’t try to train your Passion Flower to be too neat and compact. The branches allowed to hang loose and droop will most likely flower.
• Excellent choice for trellises, walls, fences, or arbors. Perfect in wall-side borders, city gardens, cottage gardens, Mediterranean gardens, and containers. This trouble-free climber clings with tendrils so that it won’t damage brickwork or fences!
• Butterflies are extraordinarily fond of Passion Flowers.
• This vine blooms on new growth and should be pruned in late winter or early spring. No regular pruning is needed. However, trimming may be required to keep them to the space available, removing as much from the longer shoots as necessary.
• Ingestion of some parts may cause severe discomfort.