Passion fruit

Tree facts

Scientific name

Passiflora edulis

Origin

Southern Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina

Tree size

Vine growing 15–20 ft a year; needs a sturdy fence or trellis

Growth rate

Fast

Sun

Full sun

Soil

Well-drained soil rich in organic matter. Prone to root rot and nematodes in wet or sandy ground.

Soil pH

6.0–7.5

Pollination

Purple types are mostly self-fertile; yellow types usually need another vine. Carpenter bees are the main pollinators, and hand-pollinating helps.

Cold hardiness

Purple types take brief dips to about 28°F; yellow types are damaged near 32°F

USDA zones

9b–11 (purple types into 9a with protection)

Years to first fruit

1–1.5 from planting

Season

Jul–Dec

Water

About every 4 days once established, without rain; more in heat, in pots and while young

Feeding

About every 45 days, Mar–Sep

Pruning

Feb–Mar

Taste

Intensely aromatic and sweet-tart, with crunchy edible seeds

Nutrition

Good source of vitamin C, vitamin A and fiber

Is passion fruit safe to eat? Edible and toxic parts

What you can eat

• Ripe pulp and seeds, raw
• Juice strained from the pulp

Toxic parts and cautions

• Take care: Unripe fruit and the leaves contain cyanogenic compounds that can release cyanide. Eat only fully ripe fruit (colored, often wrinkled or fallen), and don't make tea from the leaves.
• Good to know: Vines live only 5–7 years and can become weedy, smothering nearby plants and trees.

Pets: Keep pets away from unripe fruit and leaves. A little ripe pulp is unlikely to harm a dog, but the rind isn't food.

How to eat and enjoy passion fruit

• Fresh, halved and eaten with a spoon
• Juice and agua fresca, sweetened
• Pavlova and cheesecake toppings
• Mousse de maracujá (Brazil)
• Cocktails, sorbet and curd

Passion fruit varieties (7)

• Black Knight

  A compact purple passion fruit with dark, sweet, aromatic fruit, good for pots and small trellises.

  Taste: Sweet, aromatic · Size: Small to medium

• Frederick

  A vigorous hybrid with large, purple-red fruit and tangy-sweet pulp.

  Taste: Sweet-tart · Size: Large

• Nellie Kelly

  An Australian black (purple) passion fruit, usually sold grafted onto a disease-resistant rootstock.

  Origin: Australia · Taste: Sweet, aromatic

• Panama Gold

  A golden-yellow hybrid with large fruit and sweeter pulp than most yellow types.

  Taste: Sweet-tart · Size: Large

• Panama Red

  A red-purple hybrid with large, sweet fruit.

  Taste: Sweet · Size: Large

• Possum Purple

  A purple passion fruit with sweet, aromatic pulp, popular in Florida yards.

  Taste: Sweet, aromatic · Size: Medium

• Yellow (flavicarpa) · also Yellow passion fruit, Flavicarpa, Golden passion fruit

  The large, tart yellow form grown commercially for juice in the tropics.

  Taste: Tart, very aromatic · Size: Large

  Usually needs a second vine for pollination and is less cold-hardy than purple types. Often used as a rootstock.

Pests and diseases to watch for

• Scale insects

  Small bumps, waxy or shell-like, on stems and leaf veins; sticky honeydew and black sooty mold below.

  What to do: Scrub small colonies off with a soft brush.

• Mealybugs

  White cottony clusters in leaf joints, under leaves and on fruit stems; honeydew and sooty mold.

  What to do: Blast off with a strong spray of water.

• Aphids

  Clusters of tiny soft insects on new shoots; leaves curl and get sticky.

  What to do: Spray off with water.

• Sooty mold

  Black, papery film on leaves and fruit that wipes off; it grows on honeydew.

  What to do: Control the insects making honeydew; the mold then weathers away.

• Spider mites

  Fine pale speckling on leaves, dusty undersides and fine webbing; leaves bronze and drop.

  What to do: Hose the undersides of leaves.