Blue Passion Flower
(pass-iff-FLOR-uh) (see-ROO-lee-uh)
Passiflora caerulea
Synonyms: Hardy Passionflower, Maypops
This is one of the more exotic flowers you can grow in Connecticut. Several references said that it can live outdoors to Zone 6 but it has never lasted outside for me. We grow it in containers and it does fine but they need to be brought in at the end of the season. They seem to last only a couple of years in containers before they lose vigor. The containers grown vines have never produced fruit for me.
Many people recommend part shade for Passion Flowers but that doesn’t really work here in Connecticut. The plant needs full sun and moderate amounts of water. In the wild they can grow up to 32 feet but 10-12 feet seems to be tops in the pot.
Passionflowers are mostly native to the southeastern part of the Western Hemisphere. There are over 500 species and it seems every year that I find a couple of new ones growing here and there (usually at Botanical Gardens). There are a lot a lot of cultivars available for the home gardener now. Personally I have grown a couple of the red types and some of the blue flowered types and the cultivars are special but the species has its own beauty. The plant parts (stem, flowers, leaves) are used medicinally. They provide a calming effect on the users and is often mixed with Valerian to provide a stronger effect.
5 comments:
thank you for the information. i never know it could grow so tall. the flower is pretty.
Beautiful blue-purple flower, Digital! Thanks for visiting my blog! I'll try to visit more often... :)
I planted the hardy one, at least hardy for me. I finally had to get rid of it as it was eating a good chunk of my garden and choking several mature trees. It took three summers to finally rid the garden of it. It was lovely though.
Les, I guess that makes a case for cultivation in containers.
Hello. Greate macro.
Check out my Flower arrangements video blog.
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