Blue Passion Flower

Passion flowers feature edible blooms, and these plants have been used in homeopathic medicine for centuries. Today, passion flower is mostly grown as an ornamental, and for its delicious, sweet-tasting fruit. Passionfruit has a sweet, tropical taste, with a hint of tartness. It tastes something like kiwi, and has been used in beverages and for snacking!

Blue Passion Flower is a perennial, and will come back year after year in the climates in which it is hardy. However, it is only hardy in areas that don't reach much below freezing in the cold months. In those parts of the United States, you will need to overwinter your passion flowers indoors.

If you don't experience warm, tropical weather year-round, you can still enjoy passion flowers if you bring them inside before the cold season. There are two ways to keep your passion flowers inside over winter. They can be kept actively growing in a sunny window, or you can let them go dormant. To keep your passion plants active through the winter, bring them inside in their pots, place them by a sunny window, and continue watering. The blooms will likely slow down a bit, but the plant will continue to flower.

You might also consider allowing the plants to go dormant. Just bring your blue passion plants inside and store them in a dark location, such as a garage. Cease watering the plants after the blooms have faded, and cut them back to just an inch or two of height before late fall. In the spring, set them in a sunny location and begin watering again. When the plants begin to grow, you can transition them outdoors.

Passion flower is not invasive-in fact, it is not winter-hardy in much of the United States. In tropical climates like Florida, the vines can grow and may spread relatively quickly.

Blue Passion Flower can easily be grown in a pot, and container growing is the best option for most gardeners in the United States with this tropical flower!

Most Passion flower vines are only cold-hardy in Zones 8, 9 and 10, with a few hardy in zones 6 and 7 also. In the northern United States, these plants cannot survive winters outdoors. While they're happy to flourish in the South year-round, the rest of us won't want to plant passion flowers in the ground for this single season. Luckily, these plants will definitely thrive in containers. Begin with a pot that is at least 16 inches deep and wide, and know that you may have to repot these plants as they grow.

If you're planting in containers, you can place your passion flowers in a sunny indoor location, but they probably will perform best outside through the summer. Provide your plants adequate water, and bring them indoors before frost hits. The plants may continue to bloom as if nothing has changed, or their flowering may slow down a bit. You can place the containers outdoors, in the spring, after the air has warmed and the final frost date has gone by.

Blue Passion Flower will regrow in its entirety each spring. Once established, these plants will spring back rapidly.

Blue Passion Flower is shipped as a potted plant, and planted in spring. It needs rich, well-draining soil and lots of water. In cold climates, we recommend bringing it inside in winter to treat as a houseplant. It works great as a container plant or patio specimen, too!