How to Plant Dry Banana Passion Fruit Seeds
Eaten fresh or as flavoring for drinks, banana passion fruit (or curuba as it is often known) is a delicious tropical fruit that you can grow in your own backyard. The fast-growing banana passion fruit is considered highly invasive in subtropic and tropic areas, including high elevations in Hawaii; but in most temperate-to-warm conditions, it is controllable and will produce tasty fruit and beautiful pink-red flowers. Growing these vines from seed is the preferred method of propagation, but dried seeds make the process harder and longer. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Soak dried seeds in lukewarm water for a couple hours to overnight. This can shorten germination time to about 5 weeks instead of 10.
-
2
Sow seeds indoors in early winter in order for them to be ready to transplant after the last frost. Place one or two seeds each in peat pots or well-draining containers filled with a seed-raising mix. Plant 1/2 inch deep, and water well.
-
-
3
Put the seeded pots in a warm, sunny area. If you put the pots on a heating pad and bottom-heat the seeds at 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, germination can be sped up to as soon as 1-2 weeks, whereas at lower temperatures, seeds can take up to 10 weeks.
-
4
Transplant seedlings outdoors when they are about 10 inches high. Have very nutrient-rich soil ready in a sunny spot and have something--a fence or sturdy trellis--for the vines to grow on.
-
5
Water and fertilize the banana passion fruit vines regularly throughout the growing season to ensure the beautiful pink-red flowers and fruit, which should begin to appear in the second year.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Banana passion fruit vines don't like temperatures below 28 degrees Fahrenheit; so if you live in cooler regions, consider growing the plant in a large container that you can bring inside during the winter.
In the right conditions, the vine can spread quickly and has been known to produce as many as 300 fruits per vine in Colombia annually, so pruning is necessary in order to avoid the plant taking over your garden. Pruning also helps increase airflow, which minimizes the chance for disease and helps with weeding and harvesting.
