Passionfruit ‘Purple Possum’ Passiflora edulis
Passionfruit season is nearly upon us! This tropical vine makes one of our absolute favorite fruits, with an exotic out-of-this world flavor. It’s tangy, sweet, and tart, with a flavor resembling a combination of citrus, pineapple, kiwi, and melon. Commonly used in juices, jams, and desserts, we enjoy passionfruit straight from the vine or even better, drizzled over a fruit salad with bananas and papaya. The Passionfruit is a round sphere up to baseball size, with a thick shell. Inside is a cavity filled with juice and soft, crunchy seeds surrounded by a soft pulp. Purple varieties are known to be sweeter and are commonly eaten out of hand, whereas yellow types are more tart and often sweetened for making juices.
The passionfruit vine is a fast growing evergreen, great for covering fence lines or trellises. It grows best in full sun and will grow toward the sunniest exposure, so a south-facing planting area is ideal. The vines usually flower heavily through the summer and fall, with the main crop ripening from late-winter through spring. Usually another smaller crop will develop in early summer. The fruit turns bright purple when ripe, and falls off the vine, protected by its thick shell. Our favorite part of passionfruit season is hunting for fallen fruit each morning (great activity for kids!).
Some varieties of passionfruit require cross pollination to get good fruit set, but the ‘Purple Possum’ cultivar is self fertile and will set fruit on its own, with the help of bees and butterflies. Speaking of pollinators, Passiflora vines are also a host plant for several butterflies, including the native gulf fritillary. Don’t be alarmed if you see small orange caterpillars on your vines, they’re your friends and will end up pollinating your fruit for you in exchange for nibbles of the leaves!
Don’t worry– gulf fritillary caterpillars are completely stingless. The spines are just for show.
Passionfruit vines grow vigorously for about 3-4 years, and then usually decline and can be replanted. It usually takes about 1 year for the vine to establish and start fruiting. They should be planted in full sun and given ample water until established, after which point they are fairly drought tolerant, but will benefit from being well mulched and watered occasionally. You can expect hundreds of fruits each season from a well established passionfruit vine, and they are easy to preserve by simply freezing the juice and pulp.
Fun Fact:The name passionfruit or passionflower originates from Christian missionaries in the 1500s, who noted that the various parts of the unusual and striking flowers were symbolic of the Passion of Jesus Christ, representing elements of the last hours of His life and Crucifixion.
