May is a month full of promise in the garden, and what better variety is there to encapsulate the excitement of the ever-increasing sunny conditions than the deeply fascinating Blue Passion Flower? Hence why it is our Plant of the Month!
Also known as Passiflora caerulea, this is a large flowering climber that isn’t easily forgotten after being seen – you won’t be able to help yourself but grow it! Bursting with a feel of exotic shores far away, this variety is one of those gems that makes us feel intrigued and excited, just from a simple glance!
This is the perfect time to plant a Blue Passion Flower, which erupts across many months of summer, from May to September, with big, white, and waxy flowers and central filaments in rich shades of cornflower blue, deep purple, and a soft white, arranging into a fascinating multi-layered effect.
While being a beauty to look at once in bloom, this is also one of our favourites as it is easy to grow, tough, and resilient – even becoming hardy once established, withstanding conditions as low as -10C!
Vigorous and trouble-free, this Blue Passion Flower thrives during those remarkable hot summers we’ve been enjoying in recent years. See a thrilling display in little time, coating sunny walls or fences, while the evergreen leaves of the plant are beautiful too – deeply lobed, dark green, and glossy.
A deeply unique treat, unlike many other climbers. Buy yours here as an established plant in a 2L pot, ready to plant!
Tempted to Grow Your Own? Here’s How!
- Passion Flowers tend to bloom particularly well when their roots are restricted by a container or in a path-side border.
- When planting in a container, use a good quality potting compost. Pot-grown shrubs can be planted at any time of the year as long as the soil is not waterlogged or frozen.
- Water the nursery potted plant well, then dig a hole a little deeper and three times the width of the nursery pot. Add a soil conditioner, such as well-rotted manure, to the earth removed from the hole if necessary.
- Remove the plant from its pot and tease out a few of the roots. Place your plant in the hole at the same level as it was supplied in the pot. Refill the hole with the earth removed (backfilling).
- Firm in the soil with your heel, avoiding the root ball. Water well and mulch around the base of the plant with a collar, compost, gravel, bark etc.
Aftercare
- Water well and regularly for the first few months. With a robust and rapidly growing root system, your plant will establish rapidly.
- Once planted, keep the area free of competing weeds.
- Apply a generous layer of mulch around the base of the plant after planting and thereafter annually.
Pruning
- Little pruning is needed apart from removing any branches that are dead, damaged, or diseased.
- If your Passion Flower is overgrown or badly frost-damaged, carry out renovation in spring by cutting back the stems to 30-60cm from soil level and your plant will respond by sending out new shoots.
Have you ever grown a Passion Flower in your garden? Why not show it off on our Facebook page here!
