Shrub · Passifloraceae
Passionfruit
Passiflora edulis
Give it full sun, sharp drainage, and a strong trellis, and this fast vine rewards you with fragrant fruit.
Full sun
Every 2–4 days
50–86°F · 10–30°C
70–75 days
Overview
Passionfruit is a fast, tendril-climbing vine that's grown for its fragrant, jelly-filled fruit. It comes from the warm country that runs from Brazil down into northeastern Argentina, and it hasn't forgotten where it's from, so it wants heat, humidity, and steady moisture to be happy. Give it all that and it can add more than 35 feet of growth in one year, which means a sturdy trellis or fence really isn't optional here.
There are two main forms worth knowing about. The purple type fruits on its own and copes with cooler, higher ground, while the yellow type grows bigger, needs a partner to fruit, and prefers warm lowlands. So why do growers so often graft the purple onto yellow roots? Because it gives you the best of both, since the yellow form shrugs off the soil diseases that take out purple vines grown on their own roots.
It's earned that moderate label, but don't let it put you off. The vine pretty much grows itself, and it just leans on you for sharp drainage to dodge root rot and a watchful eye for the wilts and viruses that can end things fast. Keep the soil moist but never soggy, cut it back each spring, and the fruit ripens about 70 to 75 days after the flowers open.
Care
The short version: full sun, fertile soil with sharp drainage, and small, frequent waterings so it stays evenly moist. Give it a strong trellis to climb, feed it through the growing season, and cut it back early each spring so it flowers on fresh wood.
Light
Passionfruit wants full sun if you want it to flower and fruit well, though it'll get by in partial shade with less to pick. So plant it somewhere it gets a good dose of direct light, and the vine pays you back with a heavier crop.
Water
Give it small, frequent waterings to keep the soil evenly moist, roughly every 2 to 4 days, but don't ever let it sit wet. Sharp drainage is the whole game here, because standing water at the roots invites the rot that kills vines outright.
Soil
Plant it in moist, fertile, well-drained sandy loam that lets water move through fast. A pH between 6.0 and 7.5 suits it fine, so the soil can run slightly acidic to slightly alkaline and it won't mind.
Temperature
It grows best in that warm band from 50°F to 86°F (10°C to 30°C), and it's got no tolerance for frost at all. A hard cold snap into the mid-20s°F can kill a vine right to the ground, so keep it in zones 9 through 12 or bring your containers in.
Humidity
This vine likes the air on the humid side, around 50% to 80%, which fits with its tropical roots. Dry air slows it down, so a humid spot or regular moisture around the plant keeps it growing strong.
Feeding
Feed it a balanced fertilizer every 4 to 6 weeks through the growing season, spring into fall. Ease off the nitrogen after the first year, or you'll just grow a wall of leaves and not much fruit.
Pruning
Prune it early in the growing season, since the vine only flowers on new growth. Cut out the dead, weak, or crowded stems and shorten it hard to keep the vigor in check and the fruit somewhere you can actually reach it.
Repotting
Grown in the ground, it hardly ever needs repotting. In a container, just bump it up a pot size each spring when the roots start circling, the vigor drops, or the soil dries out almost as fast as you water it.
Size & spacing
This is a big, vigorous vine that climbs 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 m) and spreads 3 to 10 feet (90 cm to 3 m) wide. Give it a strong trellis or fence and plenty of room, because it can put all that growth on in one fast year.
When to plant
Passionfruit runs on warmth and won't put up with frost, so timing matters. Start fresh seed indoors in late winter to early spring, move the young vines outside in spring once the soil's warmed up and the cold has passed, and then the fruit ripens from midsummer through fall, about 70 to 75 days after each flower opens.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: late winter to early spring; sow fresh seed, which germinates in 2 to 3 weeks
- Plant: spring after the last frost once soil is warm
- Harvest: flowers spring through fall; fruit ripens about 70 to 75 days after flowering, peaking midsummer through fall
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 9–12
Temperature: down to -7°C
Troubleshooting
Most passionfruit trouble shows up as a sudden wilt, chewed leaves, or fruit that goes hard and woody. The fast-moving root and crown diseases are the ones you'll want to catch early. Match what you're seeing below, then act before it works its way down the trellis.
The whole vine wilts and flops for no obvious reason
A healthy vine that suddenly gives out? That's nearly always Fusarium canker or Phytophthora crown rot getting to work down at the base. Have a look at the crown for dark, sunken lesions, and press on the roots to feel for soft, mushy spots. There's no rescuing an infected vine, so pull it, sort out the drainage, and start over with purple stock grafted onto yellow flavicarpa rootstock, which just brushes the disease off.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy affected vines
- Improve drainage and stop overwatering
- Graft purple scions onto yellow (flavicarpa) rootstock for resistance
Fruit turns hard and woody, leaves look mottled
When the fruit goes thick-skinned and lumpy and the leaves take on a patchy mosaic look, that's woodiness disease, a potyvirus that aphids ferry from one vine to the next. There's no fixing a plant once it's got it, unfortunately. So pull it up and destroy it, get on top of the aphids that spread it, and replant somewhere fresh with clean, virus-free stock.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy infected vines
- Control aphid vectors
- Replant with virus-free stock
Leaves chewed down to lace, maybe with some webbing
There are two usual suspects when the leaves get shredded. Caterpillars, which are the babies of the butterflies your vine feeds, munch the leaves right down to the veins, and spider mites leave behind fine webbing and a dusty, speckled look under the foliage. Just pick the caterpillars off, rinse the mites away with water or a bit of horticultural oil, and let the good bugs mop up the rest. A strong, well-spaced vine won't take long to bounce back.
Fix:
- Handpick caterpillars
- Spray water or horticultural oil to knock back mites
- Encourage natural predators
Toxicity
The ripe fruit is safe and delicious, but the rest of the plant? Not for eating. Leaves, vines, and unripe green fruit hold cyanogenic glycosides that can let off cyanide when they're chewed, which is a mild hazard for pets and a good reason to keep curious kids away from the foliage. Stick to the ripe pulp and there's really nothing to worry about.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Mild
If a cat has a go at the leaves or a green unripe fruit, you'll probably see some drooling and its food coming back up, plus a bit of tiredness if it got more than a mouthful. The ripe pulp isn't the issue here, it's the foliage that causes the trouble.
Dogs Mild
A dog that chews the vines or green fruit will usually drool and get a bit of an upset tummy. A big helping of leaves can leave it sluggish or short of breath, though, so that's when it's worth ringing the vet.
Horses Mild
A horse grazing on the foliage or unripe fruit can go off its food and seem a bit dull. It's the cyanogenic compounds in the leaves doing that, not the ripe fruit itself.
Rabbits Mild
Rabbits shouldn't ever get the leaves or vines, since they carry those same cyanide-releasing compounds. A little taste of ripe pulp here and there, on the other hand, does them no harm at all.
Livestock Mild
Cattle, goats, and sheep that browse the leaves and green fruit can end up with an upset gut and low energy. Keep them off the vine, but the ripe fruit is no real threat to them.
Birds Mild
It's best to keep the foliage and unripe fruit away from pet birds because of the cyanogenic content. A bit of the ripe pulp now and then, as a treat, is perfectly fine.
People Ripe fruit safe
Good news, the ripe passionfruit pulp is a kitchen favorite and totally safe to eat. Just don't go chewing the leaves, vines, or green unripe fruit, and keep the kids from doing it too.
Skin contact is not a concern; wash hands after pruning. Keep curious pets and children from chewing leaves, vines or unripe green fruit.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Passionfruit comes in a few different forms, split first by fruit color and then by named picks. These are the ones you're most likely to run into.
Purple passionfruit (Passiflora edulis)
This is the self-fertile purple-fruited one, and it's happiest in the cooler air of high-elevation tropics.
Yellow passionfruit (P. edulis f. flavicarpa)
It's got bigger yellow fruit, wants a second vine nearby to pollinate, loves warm lowlands, and it's the disease-resistant rootstock that growers graft the purple form onto.
Possum Purple
A tough, fast-growing purple-fruited pick that's become a real favorite across Florida.
Frederick
A partly self-fertile hybrid that gives you large fruit blushed with purple.
Companions
Passionfruit grows well alongside a few plants that draw pests away from the vine base, keeping aphids and nematodes off the roots and stems.
Plant near
Marigold: Interplanting near the vine base can help deter nematodes and some pests.
Nasturtium: Acts as a trap crop that lures aphids away from the vine.
How to propagate
There are a few ways to start passionfruit, from a packet of fresh seed to grafts and layers that copy a vine exactly. Which one you go for really just depends on whether you want speed or an exact clone of a favorite plant.
SeedEasy
Spring; sow fresh seed soon after removing it from the fruit · Germinates in 2 to 3 weeks; fruiting within about a year
Seed's the easiest way to get going, and it's what most people do. Scoop it straight out of a ripe fruit, sow it fresh in spring, and it'll pop up in 2 to 3 weeks, with your first fruit turning up inside about a year. The yellow form is often grown from seed to use as seedling rootstock.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Warm season · Roots in several weeks
Want a named cultivar to come back exactly like the parent? Take semi-hardwood cuttings in the warm season. They'll root over several weeks and keep all the parent's traits, which is something seed-grown plants can't always promise you.
GraftingDemanding
Warm season · Weeks to months
Grafting's the fiddly one, joining a purple scion onto yellow flavicarpa rootstock during the warm season. It can take weeks to months to knit together, but what you get is a vine that stands up to Fusarium and nematodes way better than a purple form on its own roots.
Air layeringModerate
Growing season · Several weeks to root
Air-layering is a reliable way to clone a vine you already like. Nick a stem during the growing season and it'll grow roots over several weeks while it's still attached to the parent, so the new plant is well on its way before you ever snip it off.
Myths
Every part of the passionfruit plant is poisonous, so the fruit is unsafe to eat.
Not true, since the fully ripe pulp is edible and enjoyed all over the world. It's only the leaves, vines, and unripe green fruit that carry cyanogenic glycosides, which can let off cyanide when they're chewed. Eat the ripe fruit freely and just leave the foliage alone.
The ASPCA Purple Passion Vine warning applies to edible passionfruit.
Here's the catch: that ASPCA page is actually about Gynura aurantiaca, a totally different plant the ASPCA lists as non-toxic. It is not Passiflora edulis, so the warning never had anything to do with the fruit-bearing vine in the first place.