Passiflora lutea (Yellow Passion Flower)

The hardiest of the Passion Flower vines, Passiflora lutea (Yellow Passion Flower) is a luminous herbaceous vine boasting small, pale greenish-yellow to off-white flowers, 1 in. across (2.5 cm). Attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, the fragrant blossoms are followed by small black berries consumed by birds and small mammals. The foliage consists of silvery-green leaves with 3 soft lobes. The flowers are edible and can be used as a garnish in salads. Native to the eastern and south-central United States, Yellow Passion Flower occurs naturally in woodlands, forests, thickets, and maritime forests. It can grow on a trellis or fence or sprawl on the ground. Yellow passionflower is suitable for butterfly gardens, as it is a host for Gulf fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae), Julia butterflies (Dryas julia), and zebra longwings (Heliconius charitonius). Deer resistant.

• Blooms during warm weather, sporadically from late spring to early fall
• Thrives in full sun or part shade, in fertile sandy or gravelly, moist, well-drained soils. Good drainage is essential.
• Easy to grow, this twining vine can quickly grow up to 10-20 ft. long (3-6 m). 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 won’t damage brickwork or fences!
• The terminal buds may be pinched out to encourage branching.
• 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.
• Native to the eastern and south-central United States from Pennsylvania west to Kansas, and south to Florida and Texas.