Violet passionflower is another passionflower that I took a liking to as soon as I saw it. This particular passionflower is an evergreen climber that can reach a height of eight metres tall and up to one metre wide. The parents of this hybrid are Passiflora caerulea and Passiflora racemosa.

For this fabulous flowering climber, this passionflower needs full sun to partial shade for best results. It also needs a sheltered spot away from any cold and drying winds. It is hardy down to -1 degrees Celsius.

As with all passionflowers, this plant is known for its flowers. The flowers are bowl-shaped. They are red-purple in colour, with the coronal filaments being dark purple-red with white tips. The flowers appear in summer and autumn. They are followed by green edible fruit. For better flowering, don’t train it to be too neat on its supporting trellis as branches allowed to hang and droop down are more likely to flower than those kept tidy and compact against its supports.

The leaves of this evergreen climber can reach up to 15 cm long. There are 3-5 lobes on each leaf.

Soil needs to be moist, very well drained and fertile. When watering, water less frequently but more deeply as this encourages better and deeper root growth-this enables plants to build resilience to drought and dry conditions.

To propagate this lovely climber, its seed can be sown in spring when the soil temperature is between 13 and 18 degrees Celsius. Semi-hardwood cuttings can be taken in summer. Layering can also be done is spring and autumn.

Pest and disease issues include red spider mite, scale insects, glasshouse whitefly and the potential of honey fungus.

Violet passionflower is a great choice for any garden, with the added benefit that butterflies love the flowers.

https://www.gardenia.plant/passiflora-violaceae-victoria

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/113177/passiflora-violacea-victoria/details

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/60660/passiflora-violacea/details