Software
Houzz Logo Print
stevi_k

Passiflorwer winter care

20 years ago

I am bringing my Passiflower in the house for the winter. Do I need to cut it back? If so how much? What about watering it for the winter? It will be in a cool room at a south facing window.

Stevi K

Comments (18)

  • 20 years ago

    Which one do you have? We need more information to give you suggestions.

  • 20 years ago

    I really can't tell you anything more. I wish I did. It had a purple flower. I was told it was a Purple Passion Vine. I had a picture but can't seem to find it right now. We sold it at work as a tropical potted plant.

    Stevi

  • 20 years ago

    My guess would be Lavender Lady, which also is sometimes called Amethyst.

    I have been bringing mine in for the past 2-3 years (I forget). It does tend to lose some leaves, but it flowers for me indoors and takes off like crazy when I put it back outside in the early summer.

    Keep it watered, let the soil dry between waterings (it will wilt if too dry). Watch out for Spidermites. Use little or no regular fertilizing over the winter (I use a tsp of time release in the fall and another after Valentines day)

    Mine is in front of a south facing window (with a few more).

    ~Chills

  • 20 years ago

    If it looks like this:
    {{gwi:1133315}}

    It's amethyst- But it can also be "lavender lady". They look almost exactly the same, amethyst will set fruit while the lady is sterile. That's the only way to tell.

    Mine survived outside last year, but we only had frost ... maybe 3 times & it never froze for more than a few hours. Then, for some reason this summer the biggest one went from happy & flowering to completely dead- roots & all, in 4 days. It was hot & dry, but nobody else died. I have no idea what got it... But it's children survive- The advantage of having a few clones scattered about.

  • 20 years ago

    Krstofer hi,
    No it does not look like the one in your picture. The flowers actually look like the one on this forum page. No fruit out of the flowers I got. Does this help any?
    Stevi

  • 20 years ago

    I found a vine coming up where the biggest one was today.. So I guess it wasn't "completely dead" after all.

    I'm in the process of bringing alot of mine inside- Quite a few are too tender to make it here. I just grab the pot & drag it in, staple some chicken-wire across the top so my furry kids don't try to "help" me transplant them, and put them near the window.

    The little ones get 22 watt 'circline' bulbs hung above them & the bigger ones get to stand next to a 40 watt "shoplight".

    Last year I successfully overwintered about 30 plants- Pics when I get it all set up again.

  • 20 years ago

    Here is a picture of my P. lavender lady.

    Here is a link that might be useful: P. lavender lady

  • 20 years ago

    I bought my first p. flower (red) beautiful big blooms) I am assuming you don't cut back the p. flower vine?

  • 20 years ago

    I'd want to suggest or perhaps even warn anyone thinking of severe pruning for their red "vitifolias" however, and especially in the fall, that mine has always wanted to die and goes into a severe sulk when I remove all the way down the the bottom most part near the soil where there are no remaining leaves. I guess not having any leaves is too big a shock for it and even after a heavy spring pruning , it seems to suffer metabolic problems and exhibits some yellowing of the brand new leaves and chlorosis, til it's grown a sufficent number of new leaves, at which time the newest leaves begin to look green again. Very touchy to say the least about heavy pruning , while some could be cut back to the ground I'd suspect and not suffer any ill effects, but would only quicky spring back and make fast new healthy growth. It's time to take cuttings again, and had I not done that two years ago before cutting the darn thing , I'd not have the plant I have now , which replaced the last one which died after a fall pruning. As mentioned , I'm sure most aren't so touchy about heavy prunings though someone, who also grows the vitifolia says, they've also had problems with an overly heavy pruning.

  • 20 years ago

    Thankyou for your suggestion. I was going to cut mine back some, but now I won't. I was beginning to wonder if anyone would reply.

  • 20 years ago

    If it is getting too big you can cut back in the middle of the growing season but never near the end as the chances of winter survival will be reduced. Its best to leave the plant looking messy over winter & prune only after growth has restarted. Even then never cut the whole plant hard back - always leave some long straggly bits. When pruning never cut hard to the main stems always leave a 3''- 4'' stub. I had a stunning P. 'Amethyst' producing over 60 flowers a day which never recovered from pruning too hard 4 years ago.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Passion flower info.

  • 20 years ago

    Hi again anyone out there?? I have been busy with the holidays and I am sure you are too. So, don't know if anyone will read this. My P. has vines at least 6' long, this is the first summer I have had it. It is in the downstairs garage--no heat but is "downstairs" so is warmer. Most of the leaves have fallen off but I am keeping it watered spareingly. I hope it will make it. I am in the process of looking for a place to put it upstairs and getting a light on it but perhaps it is best downstairs. I certainly enjoyed it this summer and so did the hummers. I need to research again as I have forgotten, but I think I need to repot it again with well drained soil in the spring. What do you think, upstairs with light or downstairs garage?

  • 20 years ago

    I keep mine in am unused upstairs bedroom, right in front of south facing windows.

    Mine loses leaves too, but I've been doing this for 4 years with some of my p-flowers.

    ~Chills

  • 19 years ago

    I see this post has been going on for some time but I have a related question that maybe some participants have figured out over the years. I have 3 species of passion flowers, White Constance Elliot, Blue Caerulea, Purple Elizabeth. The Caerulea and Elizabeth go dormant every year, we remove the dead vines and it recovers the next spring. The White Constance Elliot that has not gone dormant in 3 years and each year it gets longer, but it has gotten to the point where the old growth has gotten scraggly. What I would like to do this year when we remove the dead vines from the other two plants is cut the Constance Elliot back also but I am afraid it will not grow back. Does anyone know what the likelihood of killing the plant would be if I were to cut it back when it hadn't gone dormant?

  • 19 years ago

    I cut all my vines back before winterizing them (i.e. bringing them in the garage) at least by half. Never had a problem. Now if you are gonna leave it out through mild frost etc. Why not just cut it back next spring. The extra foilage can help protect it a little through winter and early spring
    (you know- the early frosts that get some of the new growth- can be protected with old dead growth)After danger of frost has passed cut back by half in early spring. You can always take a few cuttings to grow inside while you 'experiment'.
    ~SJN

  • 19 years ago

    Extra foliage does act as an insulator blanket during the winter, offering more protection even if the upper layers freeze and die off. I made the mistake of trimming away the dead vines from my Incense in January. You know, to "clean it up." The ensuing frosts we had were enough to kill it to the ground, and that had never happened before. Oops.

  • 19 years ago

    Thanks for the info. I will wait till Feb-Mar before cutting it back and hope for the best.
    I have always grown new plants by digging up the errant ones that pop up in the yard and already from some roots, but you are saying you can just take cuttings from the plant? Do you put them in water to root or some potting medium?
    Thanks in advance for your help.

  • 19 years ago

    It's easiest to dig up the root suckers. There you already have plant and root. Cuttings must be taken to propagate hybrid passis that don't sucker. I use a 50/50 sphagnum moss/pearlite mixture, dipping the cutting into Dip n Grow liquid rooting hormone to encourage root production. Others here have had success with simply putting the cuttings in water, as well as other methods, but I haven't had such luck.

Sponsored