A really exotic-looking plant, with unusual, fragrant, large white flowers with pale blue or white spiky filaments from July to September, followed by egg-shaped, orange-yellow fruit. The leaves are pretty, too, deeply lobed, dark green and glossy. This elegant white passion flower is a vigorous, trouble-free climber that thrives in hot summers and will quickly cover a sunny wall or fence. Ideal for a tropical planting scheme, it grows best at the base of a sheltered wall in full sun, although it will tolerate some shade. The fruit are edible when fully ripe, but not very tasty!
How to care for Passiflora caerulea Constance Eliott:
Choose three to five of the strongest shoots, tying them in to horizontal wires. Once the plant is established, cut back the flowered shoots immediately after flowering to within two or three buds of the permanent framework of the plant. In spring remove dead, misplaced or overcrowded stems.
Flowering period:
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Eventual height:
10m
Eventual spread:
2m
Rate of growth:
Fast-growing
Soil:
Moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil
Hardiness:
Borderline hardy (will need protection in winter in colder areas)
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This climber is semi-evergreen, so it can lose some of its leaves in winter. In colder regions or more exposed gardens, it may lose them all, but then fresh new foliage appears again in spring.
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Humans/Pets: Fruit are ornamental - not to be eaten