| English description | ||
Passiflora coccinea is native to South America; Bolivia, Brazil (Amazonian), Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. It can reach 15 to 30 feet high. It climbs by means of clinging tendrils and can be kept as an container plant. The long tendrils need lots of support for climbing. It may be grown as a houseplant in a sunny South-facing window. It is grown for its large, vivid red flowers, rather than for its fruit. Plants can have flowers for much of the year but are seen at their peak in Summer and Autumn. The gorgeous 3-5" flowers feature scarlet or red sepals and petals on which the white and deep purple corona filaments, followed by stripped edible fruits looking like dwarf water-melons. The edible fruit is rounded, relatively large, 5 cm, green, striped and mottled, becoming yellow or orange when ripe. Passiflora coccinea is a strong growing, evergreen climber with dark green leaves. The entire, oblong leaves are 2-5 inches long and 1-2 inches large. Pruning is a must to keep the vine healthy. Prune off less vigorous growth and occasionally prune back vigorous growth to promote flowering. When established, and without care, the passion fruit can easily overtake other garden plants, shading them from sun. Hardiness zone 9-11, (4°C/40°F, -5°C/25°F) in Winter. Protect from frost or plant in frost free areas. Best to keep above 50º F. Keep the atmosphere humid through the Summer and place in full sun, can tolerate partial shade. Exotic, tropical, and loves warm weather. You may need to water your plants on a daily basis during the hottest Summer months. During the Winter the roots should be kept moist, but as growth will be much slower you will probably only need to water once a week, depending on growing temperature. It will do best in a loam based mix with a little peat moss. Fertilize at least once every two weeks in the growing season. If their pot is too large or if they have an unrestricted root run then the whole plant will simply get bigger and bigger but it will refuse to flower and therefore produce the fruits. By limiting the pot size you are limiting the ability to grow and this is seen as a threat, so the natural mechanism is to produce seed for the next generation. A suitably sized pot for an adult plant would generally be of 12 inches in diameter. |
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