How to Grow Delicious Passionfruit

Passionfruit vine with fruit

Passionfruit, or liliko‘i, is a rampant vine that produces beautiful, exotic flowers and delicious fruit, which can be yellow or purple, with hard shells or soft ones. Several varieties of passionfruit exist--some of which are frost hardy and can be grown in climates outside of the tropics. Most of these varieties, however, will produce beautiful flowers but no fruit. Passionfruit is suitable for growing on trellises and they can be good to cover an old wall or ugly building.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Passionfruit plant(s)
• Potting soil
• Peat moss
• Compost
• Vermiculite or Perlite
• Shovel
• Large decorative pot or space in the garden that is protected from frost

1. Purchase a young passionfruit plant or two from your nursery. Although you can start passionfruit from seed (they reseed themselves in tropical climates), buying plants from the nursery assures that you get a variety that is appropriate for your climate zone.

2. Select a location for your passionfruit that gets full sun and that is conducive to allowing the vine to climb when it gets older. You can prop up a trellis or other support now, before you plant your passionfruit. You can also grow passionfruit in a large pot: the procedure is the same whether you start your passionfruit in the garden or in a large pot.

3. Dig a hole that is slightly larger than the pot your passionfruit is in, and then dig in a shovelful of rich compost, a small amount of peat moss, and if you like, some vermiculite or perlite to help keep the soil moist between waterings.

4. Place your passionfruit plant into the hole you have dug and backfill with the soil you have dug out, tapping down gently around the base of your plant to secure it.

5. Add a layer of mulch or compost around the base of your plant, as this will nourish it and help to keep the soil moist.

6. Water your newly-planted passionfruit well. If it is large enough and has started to vine a bit, you can use nursery tape to tie the plant to your trellis or support.

7. Watch for common pests. Passionfruit are very resistant to most insect pests, but nematodes can attack the roots of some passionfruit species and fruit flies love them, especially the soft-shelled varieties. But you can beat the fruit flies to your ripening fruit by picking it while it’s slightly green and allowing it to ripen in the safety of your kitchen.

8. Use a high nitrogen fertilizer to increase foliage growth that will support fruit later on. When the vines become robust, switch to a low-nitrogen "blossom booster" type of commercial fertilizer to encourage flowering and fruit production. Passionfruit respond well to year-round fertilizing.

9. Consider that several factors can be involved if your passionfruit does not produce the fruit you desire: Poor pollination, lack of sun, inconsistent watering or lack of nitrogen. Keep these things in mind if you get flowers but little fruit and correct them as needed.

Tips & Warnings

• Passionfruit will do well if you plant them in an area that is proteced from wind.

• You can use passionfruit vines to cover unattractive fences and other areas.

• Passionflower is a well-known and time-honored medicinal plant. You can brew the fresh leaves into a tea that can help to induce sleep, as they are a mild, natural sedative. This tea can also help to ease anxiety, especially that caused by high blood pressure. It is often mixed with other herbs to create a nice nightcap tea or tincture. Be certain that you know the exact variety of passionfruit you are using, however and select only Passiflora incarnata or Passiflora edulis for use in tea.

• If you try to grow passionfruit from seed, it might not reproduce true to type if it is a hybrid variety. Hybrids are also more prone to fungal diseases, so it is recommended to start with a purchased plant.

• Do not allow the vines to climb trees because they can strangle them.

• If you live in Hawaii, do NOT grow the "banana poka" variety of passionfruit because it is listed by the University of Hawaii Weed Risk Assessment as a serious invasive species.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish