Passiflora ‘Incense’ (Passion Flower)

Hardy, award-winning Passiflora ‘Incense’ is a fast-growing deciduous climber with fragrant, royal purple flowers, 5 in. across (12 cm), adorned with a ring of paler, wavy filaments. The fascinating blooms are followed by egg-size olive-green to yellow fruits with fragrant, tasty pulp. This elegant Passion Flower also features a handsome foliage of three-lobed, dark green leaves. Tough and hardy, ‘Incense’ is winter hardy to 0ºF (-18ºC) and will die to the ground in winter.

This passion flower belongs to the Passifloraceae family, famed not just for its edible fruit but also for its intricate passion flower. Among these botanical floral beauties are Passiflora alata, P. incarnata, P. racemosa, P. lutea, P. edulis, and the ravishing P. caerulea.

• Winner of the prestigious Award of Garden Merit of the Royal Horticultural Society for its noteworthy qualities.
• Blooms profusely through most of the warm months from mid-summer to early fall
• Thrives in full sun or part shade, in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils. Good drainage is essential. Go light on fertilizer and water deeply, but infrequently. Passion Flowers should be encouraged to reach deep into the earth for water. This prompts them to develop a powerful root system that will sustain them through droughts and freezes. Do not provide too much manure or compost or this will result in lush vegetative growth and poor flowering. Keep the soil on the dry side in the winter. Some drought tolerance once established.
• Easy to grow, this twining vine can quickly grow up to 10-30 ft. long (3-9 m). Don’t try to train your Passion Flower to be too neat and compact. The branches allowed to hang loose and droop a bit will be the ones most inclined to 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 won’t damage brickwork or fences!
• Butterflies are extraordinarily fond of Passion Flowers.
• The terminal buds may be pinched out to encourage branching.
• Propagate by seed, semi-hardwood cuttings, or by layering in spring or fall.
• This Passion vine blooms on new growth and should be pruned in late winter or early spring. No regular pruning 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
• The Most Beautiful Passion Flowers to Grow