North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Melissa Kacalanos <mijwiz@yahoo.com>]

>    1. Overwintering Passionflowers

> That is interesting -- the overwintering
> passionflowers I mean! How does
> this work for you, I had not thought of trying them.
> What is your set up --
> anything unusual?

I have two passionflowers, that I grow as ordinary
houseplants in south-facing windows. I put them
outside in summer. They're quite easy. I don't know
what species either one is, so could anyone identify
them for me?

I picked one off a pile of trash in the snow, and
brought it inside, where it rewarded me with lots of
very showy purple flowers that smell like grape jelly.
It has shiny, dark green leaves, and interestingly,
the leaf stems exude drops of sugar water, that harden
to rock candy. I suspect this is meant to feed some
sort of symbiotic ant or something. It grows at least
7 feet tall, and would be taller if I built a taller
trellis for it. It's never made fruit.

The other volunteered in an amaryllis pot I had
outdoors one summer. It's much smaller, two or three
feet tall, with fuzzy grey leaves that stink when I
brush against them. It has showy, but slightly
smaller, lavender flowers, that lead to dozens of
1-inch fruits full of seedy but very flavorful pulp.
I've given it its own pot and kept it a few years,
bringing it indoors in winter.

There's nothing unusual about growing them, except for
building a trellis for them.

Melissa


      
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