How Long Does the Passionfruit Flower Bloom Before Closing?

The passionfruit vine (Passiflora edulis, USDA plant hardiness zones 10-12) is known for its fast growth rate, exotic flowers and sweet, tart fruit. It is an evergreen plant and can be grown indoors or outdoors when there is something to which the vines can attach. A passionfruit flower can be beautiful to behold, and its scent is used in perfumes, lotions and soaps. Some people also believe that it has health benefits.

Common passionfruit flowers are bowl-shaped and measure about 3 inches wide with five greenish-white sepals (petal enclosures) and five white petals with white or greenish-yellow stamens inside. The standout feature is the feathery purple corona in the middle. Other varieties can have darker petals. The hybrid purple passionfruit flower (Passiflora incarnata L., zones 5-9) has an all-over lavender color with tendrils instead of petals. The stunning Lady Margaret passionvine (Passiflora x 'Lady Margaret,' zones 8-11) has raspberry-red blooms.

The only sad part about passionflowers is that they only bloom for one day. However, these complex flowers are so mesmerizing that it's worth it even if the flowers close so quickly. Even besides that beauty, you will still get the tasty fruit afterward. These are usually yellow in color, but purple passionfruit or maypors are native in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.

You can plant passionfruit vines in the springtime in fertile, well-draining soil, and the easiest way to do this is to buy plants from a nursery. Choose a spot that gets full sun, dig out a hole three times the root ball diameter, remove the plant from its container and wash any potting soil from the root system. Then, prune off any damaged or circling roots, place the plant in the hole and return the native soil into the rest of the soil gap. Now, you can water the plant. If outdoor growing doesn't work for you, you can also grow them indoors near sunny windows.

When does passionflower bloom? With the right conditions, you should start seeing flowers in the summer. These plants are fast growers and are considered invasive in some parts of the South. Prune as needed and fertilize once in the spring and again in the summer to get the most flowers, adding mulch to keep the soil moist.

Native Americans used passionflower as a sedative, and in later years, it was used for the same reason in European folk medicine. People still use it to help with sleep problems and anxiety. Other individuals have reported that it helped them with pain, menopausal symptoms, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and heart rhythm problems. Others believe that passion fruit is an effective treatment for hemorrhoids and burns.

The pretty flowers are edible, and you can consume them in both fresh and dried forms. The flavor is somewhat bitter, and many people use the dried petals to make tea, though this may require that you add other flavorings. Although there is no solid scientific evidence to support the medicinal uses of passionfruit flowers, some claim that the effects can be felt 30 to 90 minutes after consuming them.