Passiflora flowers are striking in their diversity. This genus includes about 500 species of vines, which are distributed mainly in the subtropical and tropical regions of Asia, America and Australia. All over the world this plant is cultivated by amateur gardeners as a houseplant. Passiflora flower, care for which can be fully provided at home or in greenhouses, our experts undeservedly bypass their attention. This plant is very difficult to find in our flower shops.
Why is this happening? What are our gardeners so afraid of? The reason for the unpopularity lies in the prevailing opinion that this flower perfectly survives in sunny, warm rooms, and in shaded and cool rooms it turns into an inconspicuous decorative vine with delicate leaves. This opinion is partly true, but do not forget that the passionflower, the care of which, basically boils down to providing good lighting, sufficient heat and moderate watering, will delight you not only with the grace of its stems and leaves, but also with an unusual beauty of flowers that open only in the light. If you are lucky enough to become the owner of this flower, you should not be afraid of the difficulties in its cultivation at all.
So how do you look after this evergreen flowering vine, which clings its whiskers to any support? Passiflora flower has dark green leaves and star-like, original flowers of various colors. The flower itself reaches a diameter of 8 cm. Most often in the culture there are greenish-blue flowers, but there are many more diverse combinations of colors. Liana passiflora, care of which will require circumcision of old shoots, will delight its owners with abundant flowering in the summer. In the spring, minor shoots are shortened by 1/3, and 3-4 main ones located on the support are kept. In summer, to improve the nutrition of flower-bearing shoots, shoots at the base of the liana are also removed. Sometimes, in winter, when the air temperature drops below 14 ° C, the liana can drop leaves. In this case, the shoots are cut off completely, and in the spring the passionflower will give new young shoots. On this plant, after flowering, bright orange, rounded berries ripen. These berries are quite edible and have a very pleasant aftertaste.
Passiflora, care:
- lighting: photophilous;
- humidity: requires regular spraying;
- temperature: in the winter - 14-18 ° , in the summer - 20-24 ° ;
- substrate: light, nutritious;
- transplant: in the spring, annually;
- top dressing: with any suitable fertilizer 1-2 times every month;
- watering: moderate, regular throughout the year;
- Reproduction: in early spring (root offspring, seeds, cuttings).
Passiflora blooms quite a long time - from June to September. Pollination of flowers is done with a cotton bud or brush. To obtain a good result, pollination is performed 2-3 times. The pollen collected from one flower is transferred to another. In summer, these flowers can be left outdoors.
Passiflora can be affected by spider mites, thrips and mealybugs. All these parasites are destroyed by special preparations, and for their prevention, a regular “shower” should be done for the plant.
This flower is most often used for vertical gardening in rooms and conservatories. If you want to show your individuality, make a beautiful curly support on which this liana will wander. As a support they use slats, a nylon mesh, bamboo grilles and much more.
Passiflora is believed to be a very long-lived plant. So wild vines can reach the age of 100 years. Its leaves and stems can cause paralysis and hallucinations, so they should be handled very carefully.