Passion fruit

Question

This is a response to the passion fruit answer in your column. I have a friend who owns a large track of land in southwest Missouri. It’s covered with large patches of purple passion flower/fruit. I wanted to share this, as I keep reading it tropical or subtropical. We have winter temperatures that dip below zero. We can have heavy snows and lots of frost. My friend has owned this property for 5-6 years and it came with the passion flowers. Given the size and density of the patches and the fact that it’s found over much of his 1400 acres, I would have to guess it’s grown there for years. It’s thriving and now has lots of golf ball sized fruit.

Answer 1

Thanks for sharing. There are tons of passion flower varieties, all having variations in their hardiness, and some are even native to the U.S. and considered semi-tropical. These will even over winter in zones 5-6 with some protection, while others handle temps down to 28 F. I am assuming that this would be one of those varieties. For more information on the various types of passion flower plant, this article will help: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/vines/passion-flower/passion-flower-varieties.htm