The Passiflora genus, commonly known as passion flower and maypop, contains more than 400 species of plants. Passion flower is know for its trailing vines, large, colorful flowers and juicy fruit. Passion flower generally grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture zones 6 through 9, though each species and cultivar has its own climate preferences. Given enough time without a frost, passion flower will produce fruit every year before dying back to the ground for the winter. Each fruit contains up to 250 round, black seeds. You can collect these seeds and use them to start new passion flower plants.
Watch for fruits to form on the passion flower vine. This usually happens in the fall. Allow the fruits to fall off the vine by themselves to ensure ripeness. Seeds taken from unripe fruit will not germinate.
Collect the fallen fruit and place it on a tray to ripen further for 14 days. During this time, the fruit begins to ferment. The fermentation process kills off Fusarium spores, a fungus that may cause seedlings to rot.
Cut a fruit in half to reveal the seeds inside. The seeds are coated in an orange or red jellylike substance.
Put a sieve in the sink, then wash the seeds under cool running water to remove the gel coating.
Fill a glass with lukewarm water and put the seeds in the glass. Discard the seeds that float, as they are not viable. Let the remaining seeds soak overnight to soften their hard coats.
Dry the seeds with a paper towel and sow immediately. Fresher seeds germinate much more reliably than old or stored seeds.
Things You Will Need
- Tray or plate
- Paper towels
- If you must store the passion flower seeds, they may go dormant. To break dormancy, gently rub the seeds with fine sandpaper, then soak them in cool water for 24 hours.
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