Passiflora incarnata

PeggyTX

I have been familiar with Passiflora for many years, but only recognized it by its blooms.  Well........this month at our country getaway cabin, I was walking around the perimeter fence and suddenly this beauty greeted at face height.  Looking closer, I saw 6-7 more bloom pods just waiting to open up!  I immediately thought the former owners must have planted this exotic plant.  After all, she had planted pink azaleas, lantana, dwarf liriope and such.  I Googled to find out the variety was passiflora incarnata and that these grow WILD in Texas.  This one lives in dappled shade of hickory nut trees.  There is only 1 bloom pod on it as of yesterday, but it seems a happy camper there.  I shant disturb it again. 

Funny aside story:  2 years ago when we bought this property, I went around hand pulling weeds and weedy vines out of the cyclone fencing.  There were so many weeds growing all over the fencing it blocked view of the beautiful wildflower-covered pasture: wild monarda, jemson weed and I don't know what all (clearly, LOL) that it took me several hours.  This five-leafed vine did not escape my wrath.  I clearly didn't know what it was.  I thought it might be some variety of wild virginia creeper, which colors nicely in the fall, but if it was, it would grow back in no time.   

Ceres

That's gorgeous.

Bijdezee

Lovely, it's too cold here for the tropical type, even the white constance elliot didn't survive for me. 

I wonder if it will fruit. 

PeggyTX

I'm hoping it will fruit, Bijdezee.  It surely gets hot enough here in peak season to do so.  We do get very hard freezes, but luckily not too many of them.  Almost never get snow in Central TX, and the 1-2" will usually melt off in 24 hours.   But 2 winters back we had around 14 days straight of temps around -10ºC.  The water pipes at the cabin froze and cracked.  A major plumbing bill to re-plumb entire line.  Yet this lovely plant seems to have survived the prolonged freeze.  I plan to keep a close eye on it from now on and will post here if it fruits.  I'll be so excited if it fruits!  I've never tasted passion fruit. 

PeggyTX

Thank you, Phlippa.  I see photos on the net showing the incarnata producing fruit, but as you say, not all fruit is "decently edible".  We had a 15' pomegranate tree when I was a little girl living in Alabama and the fruit was never large enough or sweet enough to want to eat.  Nor were the persimmons or kumquats on our trees down on the Texas Gulf Coast.   On the up side, my loquat tree produces prolific, sweet fruit and the young apple tree I planted just 3 years ago produced a few small apples.  I picked them all off but 1 so the tree would divert energy into leafing and branching, but that one little apple was fairly sweet at 2½" when I plucked it.    

PeggyTX

We drove back down to the cabin today so I could water and I discovered a lot more of these Passiflora incarnata farther down on the same fence and huge clump of the vines growing by 3 hickory trees and climbing up them.  Also saw a couple young volunteers coming through the lawn farther about a meter out from the same trees and fence.  They must send runners underground.  Down there, I don't have a formal garden like here in the city, so I welcome all blooming wildflowers I can get there.  If they can survive with only watering every 2 weeks, I'm pleased.