Passion Fruit
A Comprehensive Gluttonous Gardener Plant Care Guide
The passion fruit plant is a vine species native to America, which was first recorded in Europe in 1699. It’s a beautiful plant which will produce an array of astonishingly intricate and exceptionally beautiful flowers, as well as delicious purple-skinned fruits.
According to legend, in 1610 a monastic scholar, Jacomo Bosio, was shown pictures of the passion flower by a visitor who wanted to include them in his treatise on the Cross of Calvary. He was initially dubious that such a splendid flower existed, but with further evidence decided to present his ‘Flos Passionis’ to the world. Bosio’s passion flower details the crown of thorns (corona filaments), the three nails (stigma), the ten petals representing the apostles at the crucifixion, the tendrils as Jesus’s bindings and the leaves as the hands of the persecutors.
In a nutshell
Flowers
Fruit
Greenhouse
Planting
Passion fruit plants are perennial, rampant scramblers. They will grow happily in a greenhouse, conservatory, or pot in a sunny, sheltered spot. As climbers, they will need something handy to climb up, such as a trellis. In the winter they will need to be brought indoors to protect them from frost.
Unpack and remove the coir circle from around the base of the plant, then soak the root ball before planting. Dig a hole twice the size of the root-ball, and add some rich compost.
Place the plant in the hole, spreading the roots out as you refill the hole to the base of the stem. Ensure that the plant has adequate drainage and water well.
Watering
Water your passion fruit plant regularly, especially during hot and dry periods, ensuring that the compost is damp, but not waterlogged or soggy.
Feeding
Treat your passion fruit plant to a good mulch of compost and feed in the spring, and every four weeks during the summer months.
Pruning
The best time to prune your passion fruit plant is after the last frost or in the early spring. Cut back any surplus growth and remove diseased, dead or damaged branches.
Fruit
Passion fruit are delicious picked and eaten fresh from the plant, but if you are lucky enough to have an abundance of fruit, they also make delicious cordials, curds and cakes.
Allow the fruit to ripen on the vine until they are a little wrinkled. If no one is looking, steal a march on your family and friends by simply halving the fruit and scooping out the pulp to eat with a spoon. Then nonchalantly pick the rest and serve them fresh or in a tasty passion fruit drizzle cake, madeleines or fruit curd using one of our easy Glut recipes.