Passion Flower Exotic and Legendary

A traveler in Bermuda soon becomes acquainted with the passion flower which is widely grown there by perfume manufacturers. With the care of a jeweler, workers place the brooch-like flowers on trays for the long perfume distilling process.

• 1 - Ten petals represent the ten apostles present at the cruciiixion, Peter and Judas being absent;
• 2 - Corona or crown represents the crown of thorns or thought to be emblematic of the halo
• 3 - Five anthers suggestive of the five wounds or emblematic of hammers used to drive nails
• 4 - Three stigmas representative of the three nails piercing the hands and the feet.

Not shown are the tendrils representing cords or whips and the leaves suggesting the hands of the persecutors.

Visitors are intrigued and they buy the perfume to help them remember the beauty of the flower. Rarely do they realize that they can grow the flower in their own garden or greenhouse, for while it is usually thought of as a tropical vine, it is known to grow outdoors as far north as southern Massachusetts, Connecticut and even in Minnesota.

The passion flower was one of the treasures found by the Spaniards in the new world. Early missionaries devoted to botany saw in the flowers a religious symbol. The flower parts, indicated in the photograph, suggested to them the Passion of Christ, and thus the flower was named.

Years later taxonomists classified the plants in a large family containing many species and a great number of hybrids. Today, probably the best known hybrid is Passiflora alata-caerulea. It has the largest and showiest flowers of them all and is a hybrid between Passiflora alata and Passiflora caerulea.

Grow from Cutting or Seeds

Vines can be grown either from seeds or cuttings. Seeds should be planted indoors in December or January in the cold portions of the country. This early start will produce vines that will flower outdoors throughout the summer. Seed germination takes several weeks and the young seedlings should be given as much sunlight as possible.

As soon as all danger of frost has passed the well-established plants may be set outside in a sunny place with a southern exposure. The vine should be trained to climb against a wall or trellis where the wining tendrils can get a firm hold.

Even pergolas, garden gates or similar garden fixtures make a beautiful sight when covered with passion-flowers. In cold regions it is well to take a few precautions to assure plants for the next year. Cuttings may be taken in August or September. Any mature piece of the vine, cut to 6 or 8 inches, will root easily in sand, vermiculite or water.

Place your cuttings in an east window and protect them from direct sunlight. After they are well rooted, pot them in a good soil mixture. They don’t need much heat about 50° to 60° is sufficient. These potted plants can be planted out in the spring. Plants that were in the garden all summer can be removed from their support before frost and buried in soil 5 to 6 inches deep and covered with mulch.

Usually Passiflora caerulea gets through the winter without much harm. In any case you can assure yourself of having plants by rooting a few cuttings each year. Some well-known species include: Passiflora incarnata, native from Virginia to Florida and commonly called maypop; with white petals and purple or pink crown; Passiflora lutea, found from Pennsylvania to Texas and bearing greenish-yellow flowers; Passiflora caerulea, from Brazil, with a pink, purple and white flower and Passiflora racemosa, also from Brazil, which has red petals and a white and purple crown.

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