Friday, July 31, 2009

Passionflowers For Instant Summer Opulence


This week many of our visitors seem to be noticing the passionflower vines that are blooming furiously at the farm. We always have a variety of hanging baskets available, but currently these are the ones stealing the show. Passionflowers, although not at all winter hardy here in Maine, are very vigorous growers and bloomers, even if just for the summer season. You can bring them in for the winter and keep them as a houseplant as well, if you are so inclined. They are always satisfying to grow, wherever you choose to put them.

Just have a look at the size of them already, and this is just in an 8 inch pot!

You can let them hang wild like you see here, or you can transplant them out of the hanging pots we grow them in and easily train them to grow up a trellis or fence. When given some blooming fertilizer regularly, they should bloom all summer in full or even part sun.


Of course, it's these spectacular flowers that usually stop people in there tracks. Here are a few of the varieties we grow right at the farm.

This one is Passiflora 'Purple Haze'. It is a lovely P. caerulea hybrid that has large showy flowers with white and pale purple petals, a dark purple center, and a white and purple corolla.







This one is Passiflora 'Inspiration'. It is truly stunning with a very large frilly flower with lavender and purple petals, a lavender center, and a white and dark purple corolla.







As if that wasn't enough, here is one of the few true red passionflowers we have found to be as prolific a bloomer as the purple ones. This Passiflora 'Lady Margaret' has large flowers with crimson red petals, a white center, and dark red corona with white tips.


I know. Wow, right?

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