Passion flower

[blessedwithboys]

I was driving through a nearby neighborhood this afternoon and saw the most beautiful, exotic flower I have ever seen.  Hopped on my phone and found it was a passion flower.  There were dozens of them in an empty lot and I intend to go back tomorrow and dig some up.

I have two jet black thumbs, so any advice would be greatly appreciated!  I already looked up some more stuff online and know that the roots need good drainage, but other than that I'm not sure what to do.  Should I try to keep them in pots or put them in the ground?  I prefer pots bc I rent my home and also bc it would be easier to move them when my (extremely careless) teenage ds cuts the grass.

Do the vines have to travel across the ground, or can I stake them upward?  And can I do anything to encourage the fruit to grow? 

TIA!  :)

[SweetSilver]

I'm not experienced growing passion flowers, but to get passion FRUIT you need the right variety.  Some vines make little pithy fruits, but aren't what you think of as the tropical fruit.  Another passion relative is the Maypop.  Raintree Nursery specializes in edible trees and shrubs, and they ship nationwide.  We have ordered from Raintree for years.  You might Google edible plant nurseries for a source near you.

[sidandspencersmom]

If you are talking about a true passion flower off a passion vine, you can grow it in a hanging pot and have it hang down, rather than grow up a trellis. What color were the flowers? Purple?

[blessedwithboys]

It looks exactly like this:

[sidandspencersmom]

awesome!  like I said before- it's best to grow up a trellis or in a hanging pot. The passion flower is a great attractor for butterflies, esp the Gulf Fritillary  

[blessedwithboys]

But how do I get them home without killing them?  I read that they need heavy watering but quick drainage.  I bought regular potting soil and dug up the tuberous roots along with about 4 ft of vine and potted them right by the lot where I found them and now I have two shriveled, brown strings in pots on my front porch.  This is just since Friday afternoon.  Since the vines naturally were in full sun, I gave them lots of sun in the early  morning and late afternoon, but shaded them from the heat of the day while they settled in. 

I want to go back across town and dig up some and try again.  Should I have dug farther around the root to take more of the sandy dirt it was already in?  Was the potting soil too moist?  Should I use bottled water instead of my sulphur and iron heavy well water?

[SweetSilver]

I'm not familiar with passion flower roots in particular, but big, fat roots and tubers like what you've described store a lot of energy.  So even with the top shriveled, keep the pots moist (not wet, of course) and I'll bet you'll see sprouts soon or next spring.  Don't give up hope.

[blessedwithboys]

Ok, I'm gonna keep working on the two I have and maybe go back to the empty lot for one or two more.  Thanks!