Plant Library

Other Names:  Maypop, Wild Apricot, Wild Passion Vine

Description:

A spectacular vine for the garden; the large pale purple flowers are very distinctive; edible fruit appears in mid summer, and ripens in fall; wonderful for covering an arbor, trellis or lattice; the flowers are individually beautiful close up

Ornamental Features

Purple Passion Flower features showy fragrant purple frilly flowers with white eyes at the ends of the branches from early to late summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It features an abundance of magnificent dark green berries from mid summer to mid fall, which fade to yellow over time. Its lobed leaves remain dark green in color throughout the year.

This plant is primarily grown as an ornamental, but it's also valued for its edible qualities. The round sweet fruit is most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Preserves

Landscape Attributes

Purple Passion Flower is a multi-stemmed evergreen perennial vine with a twining and trailing habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Purple Passion Flower is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Purple Passion Flower will grow to be about 8 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. As a climbing vine, it should be planted next to a fence, trellis or other rigid structure where it can be trained to grow upwards on it. Although it is technically a woody plant, this fast-growing plant can be expected to behave as a perennial in our climate if planted outdoors over the winter, usually regrowing from its base (crown) the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat. This is a self-pollinating variety, so it doesn't require a second plant nearby to set fruit.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This species is native to parts of North America.

Purple Passion Flower is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, this plant may be too tender to survive the winter if left outdoors in a container. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.