Passionflower

Category: medicinal-herbs

Growing

  • 📍 Zone: 6-10 (zone 6 with protection)
  • 🌞 Sun: Full sun to partial shade
  • 💧 Water: Moderate; keep soil evenly moist but well-drained
  • 🌱 Soil: Fertile, well-draining soil with good organic matter

Planting

  • 📏 Height: Vines can grow 10-20 feet or more
  • 📏 Spacing: Plant 6-10 feet apart or near a trellis/support
  • 📅 When To Plant: Plant in spring after last frost
  • 🌱 Propagation: By seed, cuttings, or layering
  • ⬇️ Depth: Plant seeds about 1/2 inch deep; cuttings planted at similar depth
  • 🤝 Companion:
    • 0: Corn (vining plant can grow alongside)
    • 1: Beans (mutual shade and soil benefits)
  • 🚫 Avoid Planting Near:

    Care & Maintenance

    • ✂️ Pruning: Prune in late winter or early spring to remove dead or overcrowded growth
    • 🪢 Staking Or Support: Requires trellis, arbor, or fence for support
    • ❄️ Overwintering: In colder zones, mulch heavily or grow container plants indoors during winter

    Harvesting & Usage

    • ⏰ When To Harvest: Harvest ripe fruit when it turns deep purple and falls off naturally; flowers harvested just before fully open for medicinal use
    • ✋ How To Harvest: Pick fruit by hand; flowers and leaves harvested by cutting
    • 🥫 Preservation: Fruit can be eaten fresh or made into jams/jellies; leaves and flowers dried for tea
    • ⚠️ Edible Or Toxic: Fruit is edible and highly nutritious; leaves and flowers safe for medicinal use; roots and stems should not be consumed
    • 🍴 Culinary: Passion fruit eaten fresh, juiced, or used in desserts and beverages
    • 💊 Medicinal:
      • Anxiety and Sleep Aid: Leaves and flowers traditionally used to reduce anxiety, promote calmness, and improve sleep quality via teas or tinctures.
      • Sedative and Nervine: Acts as a mild sedative and nervine, helping to relieve nervous tension and insomnia.
      • Pain Relief: Sometimes used to ease mild pain such as headaches and menstrual cramps.
      • Digestive Support: Mild digestive aid, soothing stomach discomfort.
    • 🌸 Aromatic: Mildly fragrant flowers contribute subtle scent to teas; also attract pollinators

    Ecological Info

    • 🐝 Pollinators:
      • 0: Bees
      • 1: Butterflies
      • 2: Hummingbirds
    • 🦌 Wildlife Resistance: Generally deer-resistant; may attract some herbivorous insects
    • Butterfly Host:
      • Butterfly Species:
        • 0: Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)
        • 1: Passion Vine Butterfly (Heliconius spp.)