Shrub · Passifloraceae
Passionfruit
Passiflora edulis
Give it full sun, sharp drainage, and a strong trellis, and this fast, forgiving vine will reward 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 grown for its fragrant, jelly-filled fruit, and it is more forgiving than its looks suggest. It hails from the warm country that runs from Brazil down into northeastern Argentina, and it carries that home with it, asking for heat, humidity, and steady moisture to feel settled. Give it those, and it can put on more than 35 feet of growth in a single year, so a sturdy trellis or fence is one thing you'll want ready for it from the start.
There are two main forms worth getting to know, and neither is hard to love. The purple type sets fruit on its own and copes with cooler, higher ground, while the yellow type grows larger, wants a partner to fruit, and prefers warm lowlands. Growers often graft the purple onto yellow roots to get the best of both, since the yellow form simply shakes off the soil diseases that can trouble purple vines grown on their own roots.
It has earned its moderate rating, but don't let that worry you, because most of it comes down to a couple of simple habits. The vine grows itself with little fuss and only really leans on you for sharp drainage to sidestep root rot and a watchful eye for the wilts and viruses that can move fast. Keep the soil moist but never soggy, prune it back each spring, and the fruit ripens about 70 to 75 days after the flowers open, which is a genuinely rewarding thing to watch happen.
Care
The short version: give it full sun, fertile soil with sharp drainage, and small, frequent waterings so it stays evenly moist, and you're most of the way there. Offer it a strong trellis to climb, feed it through the growing season, and prune it back early each spring so it flowers on fresh wood.
Light
Passionfruit loves full sun to flower and fruit well, and you'll be rewarded for finding it a bright spot. It will still get along in partial shade, just with a lighter harvest, so plant it where it gets a strong dose of direct light whenever you can.
Water
Give it small, frequent waterings to keep the soil evenly moist, roughly every 2 to 4 days, and it will settle in happily. The one thing to remember is to never let it sit wet, because sharp drainage is the whole game here and standing water at the roots invites the rot that harms vines.
Soil
Plant it in moist, fertile, well-drained sandy loam that lets water move through quickly, and you've given it a great start. A pH between 6.0 and 7.5 suits it nicely, so the soil can run slightly acidic to slightly alkaline without causing any trouble.
Temperature
It's happiest in the warm band from 50°F to 86°F (10°C to 30°C) and simply has no tolerance for frost. A hard cold snap into the mid-20s°F can knock a vine back to the ground, so keep it in zones 9 through 12 or bring containers indoors when the cold arrives, and it will be fine.
Humidity
This vine enjoys the air on the humid side, around 50% to 80%, in keeping with its tropical roots. Dry air just slows it down a little, so a humid spot or regular moisture around the plant keeps it growing strong and content.
Feeding
Feed it with a balanced fertilizer every 4 to 6 weeks through the growing season, from spring into fall, and it will thank you with steady growth. Ease off the nitrogen after the first year, or you'll grow a lovely wall of leaves at the expense of the fruit you're really after.
Pruning
Prune it early in the growing season, since the vine only flowers on new growth, and don't be shy about it. Cut out the dead, weak, or crowded stems and shorten it hard to keep the vigor in check and the fruit within easy reach.
Repotting
Grown in the ground, it rarely needs repotting at all, which is one less thing to think about. In a container, just move it up a pot size each spring when the roots start to circle, the vigor drops, or the soil dries out almost as fast as you water it.
Size & spacing
This is a big, spirited vine, climbing 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 m) and spreading 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 on all that growth in a single fast year, and that's part of the fun.
When to plant
Passionfruit runs on warmth and won't take a frost, so timing is your friend here. Start fresh seed indoors in late winter to early spring, move the young vines outside in spring once the soil has warmed and the cold has passed, and then just enjoy the wait, since 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 turns up as a sudden wilt, chewed leaves, or fruit that goes hard and woody, and nearly all of it is something you can handle. The fast-moving root and crown diseases are the ones to catch early, so match what you're seeing below and act before it travels down the trellis. A little attention goes a long way.
Your whole vine suddenly wilts and folds
Take heart, this dramatic collapse has a clear cause and a clear path forward. A healthy vine that caves in fast is nearly always fighting Fusarium canker or Phytophthora crown rot down at the base, so gently check the crown for dark, sunken patches and feel the roots for soft, mushy spots. An infected vine cannot be nursed back, so lift it without guilt, sort out the drainage, and start fresh with purple stock grafted onto yellow flavicarpa rootstock, which brushes the disease off with ease.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy affected vines
- Improve drainage and stop overwatering
- Graft purple scions onto yellow (flavicarpa) rootstock for resistance
Hard, woody fruit alongside mottled leaves
When the fruit turns thick-skinned and lumpy and the leaves show a patchy mosaic pattern, the plant has picked up woodiness disease, a potyvirus that aphids carry from one vine to the next. Sadly there's no cure for a plant that has it, but the next crop can do beautifully. Lift and destroy the affected vine, keep the aphids that spread it under control, and replant on fresh ground with clean, virus-free stock.
Fix:
- Remove and destroy infected vines
- Control aphid vectors
- Replant with virus-free stock
Leaves nibbled to lace, maybe with a little webbing
Two small pests do this, and both are manageable, so don't lose heart. Caterpillars, which are the young of the butterflies your vine happily feeds, chew the leaves right down to the veins, while spider mites leave behind fine webbing and a dusty, speckled look under the leaves. Pick the caterpillars off by hand, rinse the mites away with a spray of water or a little horticultural oil, and let the helpful predators finish the job. A strong, well-spaced vine bounces back quickly.
Fix:
- Handpick caterpillars
- Spray water or horticultural oil to knock back mites
- Encourage natural predators
Toxicity
The ripe fruit is safe and truly delicious, and that's the part you'll be picking, so there's plenty of reassurance here. The rest of the plant just isn't for eating: leaves, vines, and unripe green fruit hold cyanogenic glycosides that can release cyanide when chewed, a mild hazard for pets and a good reason to keep curious children away from the foliage. Stick to the ripe pulp and there's nothing to worry about.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Mild
If a cat has a nibble of the leaves or a green unripe fruit, you might see some drooling and a little of its food come back up, plus a touch of tiredness if it managed more than a mouthful. The ripe pulp is not the worry, only the foliage is, so there's no need to panic.
Dogs Mild
A dog that chews the vines or green fruit will often drool and get an upset tummy, nothing more for a small taste. A big mouthful of leaves can leave it sluggish or short of breath, though, so a quick call to the vet puts your mind at ease.
Horses Mild
A horse that grazes the foliage or unripe fruit may go off its feed and seem dull for a while. It's the cyanogenic compounds in the leaves that cause this, never the ripe fruit itself, so keeping the vine out of reach settles the matter.
Rabbits Mild
Please don't offer rabbits the leaves or vines, since they hold the same cyanide-releasing compounds and simply aren't safe. A small taste of ripe pulp now and then, 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 stomach and low energy for a spell. Keeping them off the vine is the kind thing to do, and the ripe fruit poses no real threat to them.
Birds Mild
It's best to keep foliage and unripe fruit away from pet birds because of the cyanogenic content in them. A little of the ripe pulp as an occasional treat is perfectly fine and something they can enjoy.
People Ripe fruit safe
Good news for you: the ripe passionfruit pulp is a kitchen favorite and completely safe to eat. Just skip the leaves, vines, and green unripe fruit yourself, and gently steer children away from them 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 small, friendly handful of forms, sorted first by fruit color and then by named selections. These are the ones you're most likely to come across as you start out.
Purple passionfruit (Passiflora edulis)
This purple-fruited form sets fruit on its own without a partner and is happiest in the cooler air of high-elevation tropics.
Yellow passionfruit (P. edulis f. flavicarpa)
With its larger yellow fruit, this one wants a second vine nearby to pollinate, loves warm lowlands, and doubles as the tough, disease-resistant rootstock that growers graft the purple form onto.
Possum Purple
A strong-growing purple-fruited pick that has won a lot of fans across Florida.
Frederick
A partly self-fertile hybrid you'll find reliable, bearing 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
Passionfruit can be started in several ways, from a scoop of fresh seed to grafts and layers that copy a vine exactly, so there's an approach to suit wherever you are. Which one you pick just depends on whether you're after 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
Starting from seed is the easiest, friendliest way in, so it's a lovely place for a first-timer to begin. Scoop the seed right out of a ripe fruit, sow it fresh in spring, and it will sprout in 2 to 3 weeks, with your first fruit arriving inside about a year. The yellow form is often grown this way to serve as seedling rootstock.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Warm season · Roots in several weeks
When you want a named cultivar to come back exactly true to type, take semi-hardwood cuttings during the warm season. They settle in and root over several weeks and keep every trait of the parent plant, something seed-grown vines can't always promise you.
GraftingDemanding
Warm season · Weeks to months
Grafting asks the most of you, joining a purple scion onto yellow flavicarpa rootstock through the warm season. It can take weeks to months to knit together, but your reward is a vine that stands up to Fusarium and nematodes far better than a purple form on its own roots.
Air layeringModerate
Growing season · Several weeks to root
Air-layering is a gentle, dependable way to clone a vine you already love. Wound a stem during the growing season and it grows roots over several weeks while still attached to the parent, so the new little plant is well on its way before you ever cut it free.
Myths
Every part of the passionfruit plant is poisonous, so the fruit is unsafe to eat.
Rest easy, because 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 able to release cyanide when chewed. Eat the ripe fruit freely and simply leave the foliage alone.
The ASPCA Purple Passion Vine warning applies to edible passionfruit.
That ASPCA page is actually about Gynura aurantiaca, a completely different plant the ASPCA lists as non-toxic. It is not Passiflora edulis, so you can relax knowing the warning never touched the fruit-bearing vine to begin with.