I just received my own seeds, and was instructed to soak them for twenty-four hours in warm water to break dormancy. If you don't break dormancy, they can take up to 8 months to germinate; but after the warm water soak, two of my seeds seem to have already sprouted.

Here's another tip. I was told by the locals the best way to plant passionfruit seed is if you just cut open the fruit and plant THE WHOLE THING. Always do this in the rainy season! I was told the reason for this is that the acidity of the fruit helps break the dormancy. What to do if you have only got the seeds? Buy a pack of juice and soak the seed for several days before planting. I guarantee this will germinate a lot quicker than 8 months! Be warned, however, if you buy seeds through the post they may be in very poor condition - they don't remain viable long out of their environment - with a low germination rate. It's much better to use the fruit.

Andrew, I didn't change the water afterward, I just let the cup sit in a warm place until it was time to plant, then I put them in pots inside my greenhouse filled with soil/perlite. I wish you luck in germination; Tradewindsfruit-dot-com in CA sells several varieties of passionfruit if you do have to reorder.

That's interesting about planting the whole fruit--I would have used fresh seeds myself but I never see the purple-fruited kind around.

good luck! I just hate the vines they make, They take so much space, kills everything for only a few fruits. Snake attracter

thats exactly why i grow it, to cover up a wire fence that had invasives, i love their flowers, my purple possum is amazingly loaded with fruit and flowers everywhere and it attracts butterflies.

im pretty sure the fallen fruit will reseed itself

Mango, kush, Is your other passion fruit variety flowering as well or is the purple possum self fertile?

purple possum is self fertile, there is some debate over whether the yellow sunrise is, the one that survived is tangled with the purple so i really dont know if any of the fruits are sweet sunrise yet, my panama red and giant granadilla are newer and i dont expect to flower this year

By far, the best way to germinate passion fruit is just how it would germinate in the WILD. First, cut open a fresh fruit. Scoop out the flesh and put it through a mesh strainer to extract the extremely fragrant juice and drain it with water. You never want to waste any of it. What you end up with is just the seed and their jelly sack attached. (Most of the juice doesn't come form the jelly sack, and the juice inside tends to be very acidic.) Transfer the seed into a pot five inch pot with seed starter soil or any soil will do just fine. Trust me when I say this, make a hole about two inches deep and throw them all in. Through my experience, they do better when they are together. The jelly sacks should rot in about a week and then you should expect to the sprout in about a month.

DAN

I'm seeing the round purple ones in the markets now in Raleigh NC. I'm not seeing anything about them being imported either. I've had ok luck with dried up seeds of the native P. incarnata but I've had better luck just planting the whole fruit and thinning out the strongest of the bunch.

I sprouted lilikoi & purple passionfruit seeds last winter/spring. They can take awhile to germinate but grow like weeds once they do. My lilikoi are around 4 feet tall with 2 branching vines each.

I grew some from seed for the first time last spring (orlando area). I kept seeds from a fruit I ate (purple kind - bought at Robert is Here) in March. I soaked mine overnight, then put into damp potting soil in individual dixie cups and put them outside. The germination rate was pretty poor (like 10%). I planted another set of seeds in about May, and the warmer outdoor temps made a big difference. Those germinated much better (about 80% rate) nothing different in the technique, just outdoor temps. I kept 4 and put 2 each into big terra cotta pots. Each pot has a t shaped stake in it, and I strung strings between the two poles for the vines to climb on. Has worked great. They grew like crazy when it got hot:

They have about double the amount of foliage now.

Incidentally, I put them in pots rather than the ground because the aren't fully hardy there. So I can move them to protect from frost.

Anyone know how long it takes for them to fruit from seed? No flowers last season, but I'm hoping for some this year.

I grow yellow passionfruit fuit (maracuja) from seeds. I file both sides of the seed and soak them in water for approx. one day. Then, I put the seeds in moist papel towel in a small ziplock back on top of the water heater. The seeds germinated fairly quick.
Maracuja produces in more or less one (1) year here in South Florida. My record weight is 430 grams.

I found the passion fruit the easiest plant to grow from seed. I just took a fruit from the store planted the seeds and voila! I was surprise because the plant didn't grew over summer ,but by fall it started to grow like crazy, I repotted twice since. It's now 5 feet tall and it would be higher if the trellis were bigger. It will be 1 year old this spring (May) and I hope it's going to fruit.

Here's some pictures.

Samuel Forest

Berto,

Do you have any maracuja passionfruit seeds to trade? You can contact me through gardenweb if your interested.

I have the best luck with fresh seeds. With older seeds I usually soak in lemon juice then rinse and soak in water for a day then plant. I was told passiflora juice works better but didn't have any at the time so substituted the lemon. SOme people use orange juice. It must just be something acidic to help break down the coating although I'm not sure how acidic passiflora juice is.
~SJN

Nullzero,
Send me your mailing address. I will send you some seeds. bertonsilva@hotmail.com

My favorite is the giant granadilla. Sweeter than the regular passion fruit, and you can eat the rind.

Jeff

I am so happy to read how helpful and informative you all are. I neglected my PF vines because I wasn't well. A kinf friend helped me right up the fallen vines. They are lush and heavy growing all over the ground. I went to the garden and saw so many green fruits. I cried and apologised to the vines. How they struggled to be alive in my absence. I will never do this to them again. May God bless me with good health and them too.I will update you all as soon as I can. I am 70 years old so forgive me all plant lovers out there

Hi - I successfully started 3 plants from seed back at the beginning of June (Maypop and Blue Common).

They are currently under a foot tall and I'm wondering how long it takes to go from seedling to actually getting fruit. I am in Chicago (zone 5) so I'm wondering if this will go anywhere before the frost sets in late October/early November. Any thoughts? Did I start them too late?

Hi Berto - thanks for the tip, which I will try in the future. Just out of curiosity, why variety of passionfruit is that? It looks delicious and sounds like it grows pretty prolifically? I will try to get the yellow variety vs. the common small purple that I have.

Are there any good internet sources for more information on passion fruit cultivars and hardiness zones. I am in 8b. I am also looking for seeds.

Thanks,

does anyone have a suggestions where to purchase the seeds. I grew up eating this in Puerto Rico and I am planning to grow them here in my home in Florida.

Try tradewindsfruitstore.com Their seed is fresh. I've ordered dozens of plant species from them for years and always have success.
*Jemchicago-lilkoi is a type of edulis (passiflora edulis) from Hawaii that makes yellow fruits instead of the more common red or purplish edulis seen in local supermarkets.

I have heard passion fruit (the maracuja species at least) can withstand freezing temperatures. I am not too worried about freezing temps, but can they survive temperatures of over 110 degrees Fahrenheit? If they can't, can I grow them indoors?

I love passion flowers, but have had troubles starting them from seeds, but i want to try again, would like seeds for incence and purple possium if anyone has some please