Worth knowing:
The Sweet Granadilla is a climbing plant that not only produces the biggest fruits of all Passiflora species that is used for the vitamin-packed passion fruit juice, but it differs from its relatives in other aspects as well. Its leaves are not commonly finger-shaped, but almost heart-shaped entirely, and the corona of its up to 10 cm big flowers is white-purple ribboned. The blossoms are mostly coming in pairs on up to 4 cm long stalks. The Passiflora ligularis is slow-growing and twines less than other species - instead it grows almost straight up, while it can easily be directed with a climbing aid. Unripe fruits have a blue-green colour, often with small green-white dots, whereas matured fruits show a shiny yellow-orange coloured skin. The fresh fruits and seeds are commonly eaten for dessert.
Natural Location:
The natural habitat of the Sweet Granadilla is in South America, Middle America and Mexico. Nowadays it has been cultivated in subtropical regions in Africa, Asia and Australia as well.
Cultivation:
Seed propagation indoors is possible throughout the year. To increase the germinability, you should place the seeds over night in a bowl with lukewarm water for priming. After that, spread the seeds onto moist potting compost, put just a little compost earth on top and cover the seed container with clear film to prevent the earth from drying out. Don’t forget to make some holes in the clear film and take it every second or third day completely off for about 2 hours. That way you avoid mold formation on your potting compost. Place the seed container somewhere bright and warm with a temperature between 20° and 25° Celsius and keep the earth moist, but not wet. Usually it takes two to four weeks until germination.
Place:
Plenty of sun will increase the blossoming. Only in temperatures of more than 40 ° Celsius, the Sweet Granadilla will delay its growth and flowering until the cooler months in late summer or autumn. Between May and October it can also be kept outdoors, but it has to be moved inside ahead of the first nightly frost.
Care:
The Sweet Granadilla doesn’t need any special soil for cultivation. Just keep the earth constantly moist without waterlogging and use preferably lime-deficient water. There is a higher risk of damaging the foliage or spider mites, when the plant is kept too dry. From April until October, you may give fluid fertilizer for tub plants on a weekly basis. Long sprouts that outgrow the climbing aid, can be pruned between April and June. Since the roots of the Sweet Granadilla develop rather quick, you should shift up the plant every year around March to a slightly bigger pot.
During the winter:
The Sweet Granadilla hibernates best at a temperature between 5° and 15° Celsius. Indoor plants should be kept in a very bright place, otherwise it might come to etiolation. Depending on the level of warmth and light in which the plant is kept, it either casts the leaves completely or only partly. Keep watering your Passiflora modestly in accordance to the foliage and let the roots don’t dry out. Since the Sweet Granadilla regenerates rather fast, an even strong pruning with cutting back the long sprouts to 20 or 30 cm can easily be done in late winter. The plant will shoot again from March to April.
Picture credits:
- © © John ocampo modified by Penarc - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © Frank Laue - © Saflax - http://www.saflax.de/copyright
- © John ocampo modified by Penarc - CC-BY-SA-3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
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