P.elegans / P.sidifolia

Dear all,

Can someone please enlighten me on these species as to:

- which of them blooms early & well (not only when the days are short like P.actinia)?
- are their fruits palatable / good to taste?
- how long do the fruits take to ripen?

Igor Lyannoy
Ukraine

Hello Igor,

I have some experience to share, but cannot answer all of your questions.

- P. sidifolia blooms around the same time as P. actinia for me, (Jan, Feb, Mar), though it can go slightly longer. I have a friend with more moderate weather than I, that had it bloom into mid-summer.

- I pollinated 2 P. sidifolia flowers which created fruits in May, and they are still not ripe in October.

That's all I can honestly tell you so far, but it's a start!

Dear Eric,

Many thanks for your reply.
That is enough information for me not to bother with these species.

Kind regards
Igor Lyannoy
Ukraine

Hi Igor,

You may already have given up, but just in case...

I have a P. sidifolia that has bloomed 3 times this year including right now in October! It bloomed in winter, summer, and now fall (3 separate times as opposed to continuously). I live in US garden zone 9B with average temperatures from 40-70 Farenheit most of the year. The fruits are tasty but take 4-6 months to ripen fully. They are intermediate in size between P. actinia and P. edulis--closer to the latter. I would love to see more people grow this one as the flowers are spectacular!

shawn

Dear Shawn,

Thanks for your input. I am after a species that can bloom under long days, or, better, the whole year round, and that would ripen its edible fruits within a two-month period. Finally, because we have hot and dry summer, the passiflora must be able to bloom at +35C. As I can see, neither P.elegans nor P.sidifolia are suitable for this.
The ones that do well for me here are: P.incarnata, P.tucumanensis, P.Incense, P.caerulea, P.edulis (with shading) and their hybrids

Goood growing,
Igor Lyannoy
Ukraine