Propagate passion flowers easily from seeds or cuttings

Propagate passion flowers easily from seeds or cuttings

Grow passiflora from seeds

In contrast to the propagation of cuttings, breeding from seeds does not create genetically identical clones of the mother plant, but new plants. This is important if you want to breed yourself - clones of the same passion flower plant cannot fertilize one another in many species. Speaking of fruit: For seed propagation you of course first need ripe fruit from which the seeds can be obtained. You can either buy them in the supermarket (e.g. passion fruit) or grow them yourself, although this usually requires fertilization by hand. In addition, many passiflora are not self-fertile, which means they need a second plant. With a little luck (and with good summer weather with lots of sun and warmth) the passion fruits will ripen on your passiflora.However, not all species can eat these.

also read

  • Growing passion flowers from cuttings - this is how it's done
  • Passion flowers belong to the climbing plants
  • By division or by cuttings: multiply plate hydrangeas very easily

Passiflora seedlings need a lot of patience

Cut open the ripe fruit and remove the pulp with the seeds in it. You can either suck it off (for the edible varieties) or clean it carefully with the help of kitchen paper. Then some passiflora growers swear by soaking the seeds in warm orange juice for a day or two to simulate the process of putrefaction. But this is not absolutely necessary, fresh seeds can be sown in coconut substrate or potting soil instead. Only dried seeds should be soaked in lukewarm water for at least 24 hours to increase their germination capacity. Growing young passion flowers from seeds requires a lot of patience as it can take months to germinate.

Particularly uncomplicated: Propagation from cuttings

Much faster and more promising, on the other hand, is the propagation of Passiflora from cuttings. In addition, these plants bloom much faster, as passion flowers grown from seeds usually only open their beautiful flowers for the first time in the second year.

Cut and raise Passiflora cuttings

  • Choose a young but mature and healthy shoot.
  • Cut this off with a clean and sharp knife.
  • Divide the shoot into several cuttings with a maximum of two leaves each.
  • Remove excess leaves.
  • Cut the remaining leaves in half.
  • Dip the end to be rooted in a rooting powder.
  • Plant the cutting in potting soil.
  • Keep the substrate evenly moist.
  • Put a clear plastic bag with holes in it over the young plants.
  • Put the potty in a warm and bright place.

Tips & Tricks

If you are growing a new, perhaps particularly rare, passion flower type and want to buy seeds for it, opt for offers from well-known brand manufacturers. Many exotic passion flowers offered on various trading platforms are only P. edulis, ergo common passion fruit or grenadilla. Their seeds also lose a lot of their ability to germinate due to improper drying, so that you have most likely thrown your money out the window.