Passionflower, Official (Passiflora incarnata) seeds, organic
$4.95 – $31.10
Family: Passion Flower (Passifloraceae)
Hardy to Zones 6 to 12
(Maypop, Passion Flower, Passion Vine) Herbaceous or woody vine, native to the southeastern and eastern US. The flowers are wonderfully large, three dimensional, complex, purple and white. The plant prefers full sun, dryish soils and a trellis. The first year or two, while the plant is getting established, you need to keep them watered and weeded. After that, you just provide a place for them to climb. Useful in making seasonal, living shade structures and for landscape/fence adornment. Traditional usage (TWM): sodorific. Plant prefers full sun and dryish soils, trellis. These can easily be trained up a sunny wall on the porch to give seasonal shade, and the flower display is a big plus. Probably the best germination will be achieved by soaking seeds in warm water for 2 days, then nicking with a sharp blade and planting in warm conditions. Germination occurs within 30 days. However, other methods have long been used, such as giving the seeds a 30 day period of cold, moist refrigeration before planting in warm soil. Seed sown in the fall sometimes germinates reliably in the spring. Here’s another trick that sometimes gives fast results: Soak seeds in a jar of water placed in the bright sun for 2 days and nights up to a week, then plant about 1/2 inch deep in fast-draining mix and keep evenly warm. Work seedlings up in successively larger pots and plant out to landscape at a spacing of at least 4 feet apart.
Packet contains 20 seeds
10 g contains ~300 seeds
Certified Organically Grown
Question
bryn –
How do I know when the fruit is ripe?
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Richo Cech –
hi bryn, when it wrinkles, then when you open it the flesh is clear and semi-sweet, the seeds black. r
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deenaclass (verified owner) –
Followed my “hot process” in the questions and got 75% germ in the first 5 days! Expect the rest to come up in the next week or so!
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Question
deenaclass (verified owner) –
Not a question, but just wanted to share my experience with growing Passiflora incarnata from seed since I’m usually on here dropping tons of questions! 🙂 I’m lucky to live in the Southeastern USA where we have these growing everywhere! Several years ago, I ran some experiments and then also found an academic article talking about their (much more professional and scientific) experiments. (I’ve now followed this process with seeds from the previous summer AND even 2-year-old seeds with barely reduced germination with the 2-year-old seeds).
What they (and I) found is that these seeds love HEAT. Like, way more heat than most seeds would survive!
— First, I boil water and allow it to cool to around 175 F (so – not much cooling!)
— I actually clip off the sharper end of the seed before soaking
— Then pour the VERY hot but not boiling water over the seeds and sit the glass on a heat mat overnight
— Plant the next day (I’ve used regular seed starting mix in cells, coir or peat pellets- whatever’s clever) and keep the seed tray both covered AND on a heat mat. I like to do this indoors or, if it’s already warm outside- that will work. I’ve taken the temp of the soil/seed starting mix and germination is best with soil temp at around 90 F. Yes- 90!!
Following this crazy hot process, I get about 98% germination in less than a week!
I just ordered a packet since we moved and I found myself without seeds or plants and don’t want to wait another year to get going, so this is what I’ll be doing with my Strictly Medicinal seeds come next week! 🙂
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Question
Melody (verified owner) –
I inadvertently soaked way more seeds than I needed for planting this year. Any thoughts if I dried them well that they would still be viable for next season? (I did not nick them yet) Thanks.
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Richo Cech –
Hi Melody,
Thanks for staying in touch. I do think, that since they’re not nicked yet, that you can dry them off. However I recommend planting more than you think you need because germination is rarely as much as you expect. That’s why despite the relative difficulty of producing these seeds we’ve kept the packet at 20–to assure that you get something out of the packet. richo
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Jennifer M (verified owner) –
I planted the seeds in January 2021. 4 germinated, which I was very happy with, seeing as other vendor’s maypops didn’t germinate at all. I planted in May, against my south wall, and the vines started blooming late July. (I have sandy soil, which they seem to love) In August, they were covered with flowers, and little fruits starting forming. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time for the fruit to ripen (except 1!), even though the plants were covered in decent sized fruit. This spring, a couple plants came back vigorously, while others less so, and some didn’t make it. It is to be expected, as I live in Zone 5/6 (near London, Ontario) and I didn’t cover the ground during winter. The ones that did make it are thriving, covered in flowers once again, beginning early July. I will have to see if some fruit ripens this fall, but even if so, it is worth to grow just for the beautiful flowers and their scent.
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swell (verified owner) –
Hi, will this passion fruit variety grow in northern Dallas? Thanksl
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Richo Cech –
yes, thanks for the stars. Passiflora incarnata not only grows there, it is native in Texas. We’re getting 89% germ on this seed. soak, nick and plant warm. richo
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Dimitra –
Hello, will this seed grow in Greece?
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Richo Cech –
hello dimitra, yes. richo
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Question
Juan –
Hi, when will these be available again? Please.
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Richo Cech –
Hello Juan, Sorry, these sold out early. You can still get them in “glorious garden.” I’m hoping next year will be a more bountiful harvest–harvest isn’t until November. They’ll pop back into availability at that time. We have plenty of plants if you want to go that route. Richo
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Aubrey Steedman (verified owner) –
Do these produce the edible passionfruit?
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Richo Cech –
only if you like sweet tarts
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Question
Diane Rahn –
Can I order by phone?
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Richo Cech –
Hi Diane, Sorry, we don’t have a call center. We prefer orders be made on this website and also accept mail orders as a means to support those gardeners who do not have access to the www. Richo
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Question
Nancy Few –
Do you provide recipes for the medicinal use of the flowers, along with the seeds?
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Richo Cech –
Hi Nancy,
Yup, in “Making Plant Medicine” the recipe for making a tincture of the fresh flowering herb is given in detail. Richo
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Kyle Mitchell (verified owner) –
Ive developed quite the relationship with this vine in the past two years. This year it finally bloomed!
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Sean –
That is gorgeous! Can’t wait to grow it!
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sarah.walsworth (verified owner) –
I appreciate the fast shipment and this is my first time trying to grow these beautiful vines. Thank you for the many germinating ideas and anyone that had had luck growing these all comments are greatly appreciated and any advice will me taken.
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christina (verified owner) –
The vine was beautiful but I had no flowers. Not sure it it doesn’t flower first year? I also had bought some from another vender andonly one plant from all the seeds. I am ordering more today from you! Any suggestions on flowers?
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Admin Richo Cech –
Hi Christina,
Low germ on passionflower seeds is the nature of the beast. New vines might not flower in the first year. A south facing exposure, deep and dry soils, and not too much nitrogen will help plants overwinter, thrive, and make plenty of flowers. It might be best that your plant didn’t flower the first year–flowering will rob some resources from a perennial that is not yet established. Keep going! Our passionflower potted plants are a good option, it can easily take 2 years to get there from seed… richo
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Christina (verified owner) –
Thank you, Richo! Ill tell ya I had two delicate plants I raised nd didn’t think they would make it. boy I was wrong it went everywhere!!! I’m worried it wont come back for I live in Kansas so I am gonna take your advice and then maybe cut it back nd bring it in this year? I bring in other tropical with good success. I usually order fro you. In fact I have over 60 herbs that seed came from you all! Always very very happy.
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Admin Richo Cech –
The best passionflower I’ve seen in the wild is in Kentucky which has very cold winters. I think it will come back, it is a late riser, you will see it later in the season.
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Sandra Lindberg –
I love this vine and have read that there is a variety native to central and southern Illinois. But I’m uncertain. I live in 5b in central Illinois. Could I heavily/deeply mulch a passionflower vine in a dry, south-facing location and hope it would overwinter? I’m doing this with two Chicago Hardy Fig shrubs I put in this year. Any advice?
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Admin Richo Cech –
Hi Sandra,
Your question brought up a little research project for me, and I ended up changing the zone designation on Passionflower from a zone 7 to a zone 6. Our seeds are from a northern hardy strain, I do think you can overwinter it in Central Illinois, and the roots run very deep, so it may be that finding a well-drained site is more significant in overwintering than mulching, which makes things wetter.
Richo
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Lee (verified owner) –
I ordered 2 packets in the spring. I planted all 20 seeds in 6 ounce cups and like 10 in a 5 gallon bucket. I soaked for 2 days and sand papered some seeds and nicked some seeds. I got 7 plants only needed 4. I have ordered P.Incarnata seeds from other vendors and none grew. There are aggressive little plants popping up all around my main 4 that are trellised. Very Pleased and never opened second seed packet.
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Admin Richo Cech –
Hello Lee, Thank you for sharing this info. Passionflower can be a very challenging germinator. On our part we are dedicated to selling only seed from the recent harvest, and although this helps, it is not the whole story. Thanks for helping tell the rest of the story. Richo
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Dale Canup –
Did you sandpaper/Knick before or after the 2 day soak?
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Admin Richo Cech –
before
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Jennifer M –
I live in Western Washington. Hardy Zone 8. I have full sun space for these. Is this the variety that can be used for passionflower tea? I have done some research on these and found that grown in containers they are more prone to root rot diseases over winter. Would it be best to plant these deeply in the ground and generously mulch them. Or would it be better to grow in a container, cut back in winter and bring them indoors?
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Admin Richo Cech –
Hi Jennifer,
Yes, this is the Passionflower most commonly used by herbalists. The plants do send their roots very deeply into the ground and they prefer a dry site. It is best to plant in the early spring and transplant to a sunny spot in early summer.
Richo
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Criss –
Thanks! Great info!
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Admin Richo Cech –
I’ve also seen a flat planted heavily with seed germinate only around the edges of the flat. I’ve also done studies on white or beige seed vs black seed germination and found that the white and/or beige seed (as long as it is solid) does germinate at an equal rate to the black seed. I’ve also done studies sowing the seed immediately after taking out of the fruit, and this works well, but no better than sowing dried seed from the recent harvest. Actually, the tricks for germinating passionflower go on and on, and nothing seems really foolproof. Anyway, we recently did a test where we sowed fresh seed and had no germination for 34 days until we stopped watering the flat for 2 days, and then the seeds came up…
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Seth Nivens (verified owner) –
A few posts ago someone asked if you knick the seed before or after soaking. You said “before”. But in the description and on the seed packet it says to knick after. Which one do you think would be best?
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Richo Cech –
Its hard to say. On one hand pre-knicking helps the seed imbibe water, on the other hand may encourage rot. I would go 50/50.
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Linda Young (verified owner) –
Last year I ordered a pack from you, followed your instructions and most of them germinated and grew like crazy. They flowered within a couple of months and continued to be covered in flowers until our first hard frost in November or December. I know they love our Florida climate, so that probably helped in addition to my obedience to the instructions. I have enough to share with my neighbors so there’s lots of passionflowers growing up and down my street.
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Richo Cech –
Hi Linda,
It is good to hear about success with passionflower. We do change out the seed yearly to the new harvest so are certain it is good seed, but it is hard to germinate anyway. Good going!
Richo
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Anila –
Are the fruits edible? I grew up in the tropics and have fond memories of cutting open the passion fruit and adding a little bit of sugar and then slurping it all down. It would be wonderful if these hardy plants have edible fruits too…
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Richo Cech –
Hello Anila,
They are edible, and best when very ripe.
Richo
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Farkhanda –
Which variety of Passion flower would grow in Arizona ?
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Richo Cech –
Passiflora incarnata
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Sandra Weiland (verified owner) –
I ordered Passionflower from three different vendors, and soaked all the seeds in a pulpy fruit juice for two days before planting. Your seeds from one packet of 20, planted over two weeks ago, there are 5 plants now, two inches high, growing vigorously. They were planted in small pots in my greenhouse and I used a seedling heating mat below each set of pots. I am very encouraged. NONE of the seeds from the other two vendors have sprouted.
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Tiffiny –
I live in eastern washington, i think zone 5? Will it be too cold
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Richo Cech –
yes, this is listed for zones 6 to 10. you might get by with growing the plant in a pot and protecting during winter dormancy. r
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