Passion flower?

does anyone have any tips for growing it?
Passion flower?
The Beautiful Passion Flower





Advantages easy to grow, beautful flowers and leaves


Disadvantages slugs and snails like to munch on them !


I have had my own house for about 2 years now and have only a very small garden with limited space for growing plants. I was bought the Passion Flower by my parents who assured me it was very easy to grow, as I don't have a very good track record with keeping plants alive. This is mainly because I refuse to use slug and snail pellets etc as I think it's cruel.





Anyway, back on topic, here I will be reviewing the beautiful Passion Flower.





The Passion Flower


As I already said, the Passion Flower is very easy to grow, both in conservatories as well as in the garden. This plant originates from the tropical rain forest regions of South America. The ripe Passion Flower has a very distinctive aroma not found in any other flower. The Passion Flower is a climbing plant and the vines which climb are also very pretty with lovely shaped leaves (the leaves are a similar shape to cannabis leaves). The leaves are a dark green color and once the plant has begun to climb, the leaves are very close together and make up the majority of the plant. The Passion Flower itself is very beautiful, it's purple, yellow and white in color and can measure 2-3 inches across. Flowers bloom from June to August and for the rest of the year you are left with the leaves which can die and fall off during the winter months, leaving you with just the vines but these all grow back come spring.





Uses


The Passion Flower is actually more than just a beautiful flower. The Passion Flower is edible, the fruits and flowers can be eaten raw or cooked in jams and jellies and young leaves can be cooked and eaten as a vegetable or in salads.





The Passion Flower also had medicinal properties. It has been reported that it can help with the following problems:





Anxiety


Passion flower has a tranquilizing effect, including mild sedative and anti-anxiety effects. In studies conducted since the 1930's, it has been found to be different than that of most sedative drugs (sleeping pills), thus making it a non-addictive herb to promote relaxation.





Insomnia:


The sedative effect of Passion flower has also made it popular for treating a variety of ailments, including nervousness and insomnia. Research had indicated that passion flower has a complex activity on the body's central nervous system, which is responsible for its overall tranquilizing effects. Also, it apparently has an excellent effect on smooth muscles within the body, including the digestive system which helped promote good digestion.





How To Grow The Passion Flower


Passion Flowers are easy to grow but can sometimes be difficult to keep alive during the winter months because their roots can rot if they are consistently cold and wet - although I have never had a problem with this. In the wild, the Passion Flower would grow where the ground is very well drained therefore you should try to plant your Passion Flower in a well drained area of soil.





I was bought a young passion flower rather than attempting to grow it from seeds. I planted it in a well drained area, and checked it regularly to see if the snails and slugs had been munching on it. I protected the plant while it was small and covered it with a 2 liter lemonade bottle until the plant began to mature and begin to climb.





Looking After The Passion Flower


I find that the Passion Flower takes very little looking after. Obviously during the summer, when the soil is dry, it will need watering. The Passion Flower thrives on lots of water (which is very convenient considering the British weather!). The leaves of this plant are fairly large and can loose large amounts of water whilst the plant is growing so you will need to ensure that during the hottest summer months you water it regularly, preferable on a daily basis but to be honest, during the summer months, I did forget to water it a few times and it didn't die on me! During the winter you will probably have to water it as little as once a week, probably less depending on how much rainfall we have.





If you wish for your Passion Flower to grow very quickly (for example, to fill a particular space) then you can always feed it any of the plant feed on the market and it will take this quite greedily and will make the plant grow very quickly.





As already mentioned, the Passion Flower is a climbing plant. The only other maintenance that I can think of it that you may need to adjust the vines as it grows. For example, I have my Passion Flower growing along the fence and quite often new shoots decide they want to try and grow over my neighbor's fence so I have to untangle them and place them in a place that I want them to grow. I find new shoots on my plant quite often and found that it was very easy to get this plant to fill the space I wanted it to.





The vines have 'feelers' growing from them and this has got to be my favorite part of the plant. The 'feelers' grab hold of anything they can and held to support the plant as it grows. The 'feelers' sort of curl themselves over and over again and if they don't find anything to grab hold of, then they just curl round themselves. I love this part of the plant as I think it adds real character.





Pruning


Once your plant has reached the size you want it to, you will need to keep it pruned to ensure that it does not take over your garden (and other peoples) as it will do if it is just left. You should prune your plant in spring time when the growth of the plant starts again. You should remove older shoots and any dead sections of the plant and trim back any that have grown further than you wanted them to.





Summary: An easy to grow, beautiful plant
Reply:They like to be planted in the sun, make sure that you water them every day, and you can even plant them in the ground and then repot them in the fall.
Reply:Grow it where it can have full support for its massive vines, such as a trellis or arbor, feed it on occasion. protect from damaging winds and make sure its in a sunny location and don't allow its soil to dry out. If growing it in a pot, make sure its no less than 18" in diameter.
Reply:one of my favorite plants! It is hardy in my climate so we have many different kinds. I grew them when i lived in Virginia under florecents in the winter. The only problem i ever had was spider mites. Neem will take care of that just be sure to spray after lights out or they will burn. Passiflora incarnata is a varietey that is hardy to zone 6. if planted in a protected area it can survive intense frosts.genealogy mormon