How to grow passion fruit at home in the garden: professional tips

Passion fruit is a tropical plant by origin. In nature, this type of passion fruit is found in Brazil, but experienced agronomists say that it is quite possible to grow the fruit in an ordinary Ukrainian garden.

Serhii Avramenko, a senior researcher at the Yuriev Institute of Plant Industry of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, told us how to do it correctly. He devoted a separate video to growing passion fruit on his YouTube channel.

According to Avramenko, the first thing to do is to be careful when choosing a plant variety. The dark purple Pasiflora edulis, whose fruits are sold in stores as exotic fruits, is unlikely to survive the Ukrainian climate. The even more delicious Pasiflora granadila or sweet passion fruit has virtually no chance of surviving in our latitudes. But Pasiflora incarnata, also known as the northern passion fruit, will do very well in any climatic zone of Ukraine. According to Avramenko, there are even Ukrainian varieties of this species.

Northern passion fruit can be propagated by seeds and rhizome division. However it is important to keep in mind that the seeds of the plant may not pass on its varietal characteristics to the next generation, and the vine grown in this way is likely to fail to produce a crop.

If you grow passion fruit by dividing the rhizomes, you need to store the planting material wrapped in moss in cold and relatively humid conditions. A cellar or refrigerator will do.

The purchased rhizome must first be germinated. The substrate for germination can be different – soil, peat, or moss. However, Avramenko advises choosing moss the most, because it protects the roots of the plant from decay.

Spread the roots on the moss and sprinkle the same substrate on top. Put everything in a warm place. You can germinate the plant in a greenhouse or on a windowsill. The air temperature should be 25-30 degrees. "When the sprout appears, cut off a piece of the root with the sprout and place it in a cup with a nutrient substrate," the agronomist recommends.

It is better to plant several passion fruit varieties at once on one plot. This will provide them with better pollination.

The young vine will be ready for planting in the open ground when it reaches a height of 0.5 meters. Smaller sprouts can become prey for ants, so it is better to grow them to the optimal size.

It is important to move the plant into the ground only when the threat of frost has passed. The best time is the end of May or early summer. The distance between the vines should be 0.5 meters.

Avramenko also told us about another way of growing passion fruit. It requires digging up the vine while it is still green in the fall and planting it in a pot. This pot is placed in a warm and bright room, where it winters.

This method is dangerous because the passion fruit stem can grow too early. In this case, it will form long but weak shoots.

In any case, you will need support to grow passion fruit, because it is a vine that can weave. Therefore, take care of trellises like grapes. The length of the passion flower vine is about 3 meters, but it can reach 5 meters.

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