Passion flowers do not require much maintenance. All you have to do is cut back once a year and fertilize regularly.
The passion flower is a climbing plant whose flowers can grow up to eight centimeters in size and can be white, red or violet in colour. In addition, the plant produces fruits that are considered a delicacy by gourmets. However, the passion flower is not only beautiful to look at. In some Christian regions it is even revered because it is intended to illustrate the suffering of Christ. For example, the three handles are supposed to represent the three nails used at the crucifixion of Christ. And the stamens the crown of thorns. So it's worth taking a closer look at the flower. Incidentally, there are over 500 species from which you can even grow a passion flower yourself.
The plant also has another special feature: the leaves of the passion flower are used as a remedy. For example, they are said to help with tension, anxiety, restlessness and sleep disorders (source: www.apotheken-umschau.de). The passion flower only produces plenty of leaves, flowers and fruits if you take good care of it. The plant is not very demanding, but it needs a little care.
How to properly care for passion flowers
Suitable location for the passion flower:
Passion flowers originally come from warmer regions and love the sun and warmth. Therefore, always choose a bright location with a few hours of daily sunlight. If the location is too dark, few or no flowers will form.
Passion flowers can even be left outside during the summer. It is only important that the location is not only bright and sunny, but also protected.
Water passion flower:
Passion flowers not only love sun, they also love water. So always keep the soil moist. But avoid waterlogging. So it is best to always check with your finger whether the plant needs some water again. If there is water in the coaster, then pour it away. In winter you don't need to water as much. Here you just have to make sure that the substrate is always slightly moist and does not dry out.
Hint: Theideal humidity for passion flowers is over 70 percent. If the humidity is lower, spider mites can appear and damage the plants.
Fertilize passion flower:
The passion flower needs fertilizer about every 14 days from spring to autumn. It is best to administer liquid complete fertilizer such as the Compo green plant and palm fertilizer. However, always follow the manufacturer's instructions. In winter, on the other hand, you don't have to fertilize at all.
Pruning passion flower:
Passionflowers are climbing plants that you should keep in check. Because otherwise they can quickly spread to other flowers. It is best to cut back the passion flower in spring. Then it can spread again in the course of the year. Prune older plants back to about 15 centimeters. You have to shorten the side shoots to about 10 centimeters.
Before you put the plant into winter storage, prune the side shoots all around to 5 centimeters.
Passionflower overwinter:
Between October and March, the passion flower goes dormant. For this she needs a cooler location with temperatures around 10 degrees. A cool basement room or the frost-free garage are perfect places to hibernate. During the hibernation you only have to water the passion flower a little and do not fertilize at all.
When winter is over, you need to slowly water the passion flowers again. If they then start to sprout, you can also apply fertilizer regularly again.