A fast-growing climbing vine, passionfruit is one of the best gifts you can give your garden. Passionfruit is evergreen – meaning the vine grows year-round. It produces fragrant flowers in spring, followed by fruit in summer. Of course, the fruit can be harvested and added to pavlovas, cheesecakes and more. Or you can simply scoop it out with a spoon for a quick sweet fix.
Most passionfruit sold to gardeners is grafted onto disease-resistant rootstock. But with good drainage, seed-grown plants can be vigorous and productive and are not prone to suckering like the grafted ones. The most common variety of passionfruit available in New Zealand is Black Beauty. This plant is self-fertile, so ideal for local gardens, and blooms with white and purple flowers, and once ripe, the fruit is a dark purple.
Thankfully, passionfruit vines grow easily from seed, especially in tropical or sub-tropical climates. They thrive in temperate regions, as well. While not every passionfruit variety comes ‘true from seed’ (which means it produces fruit that’s the same as the parent), many do, especially black passionfruit.
Growing passionfruit at a glance:
- When to plant: spring to autumn
- Climate: subtropical and temperate.
- Aspect: full sun with protection form wind.
- Water: on a regular basis.
- Soil type: rich in organic matter.
- Blooms/harvest: flowers – mid-spring, fruit – early summer.
How to grow passionfruit
For healthy growth and a plentiful harvest, plant vines in a sunny, frost-free spot in your garden. Passionfruit vines develop extensive root systems to fuel all that growth and fruit production, so allow plenty of room beneath the soil for the roots to grow.
Keep the surrounding area free of weeds and competing plants, including grass. Also, give the vine space to climb. One passionfruit can reach at least 2.5m across and several metres high. An ideal spot to grow a vine is along a wire fence, across a balcony, or over a pergola, where they provide year-round shade. To grow a vine along a sunny wall or fence, install wire, trellis or mesh as support for its tendrils.
Keep the root system in mind when feeding a passionfruit vine. Spread the fertiliser and mulch over the entire root system, not just around the base of the stem. Passionfruit thrives on a diet of pelletised chicken manure or any fertiliser designed to encourage flowering and fruiting, such as citrus food.
Apply fertiliser in spring and then every four weeks through summer. Always water well when applying fertiliser. It can take 12–18 months for a newly planted vine to reach fruiting size, although some flowers may be produced in summer or early autumn.
Watering and pruning
Passionfruit vines perform best with regular watering. Water is vital when the vine is newly planted and when it’s flowering and forming fruit. Although passionfruit do not require special pruning techniques to produce fruit, they are pruned to control their size and spread and to allow sunlight to filter through the vine to help ripen fruit.
Pruned vines also produce strong new growth that, in turn, produces fruit. Established vines that have fruited and are growing well can be carefully pruned in spring, before flowering, to remove excessive growth and to avoid the huge tangle of stems that develop naturally. Follow a stem along carefully before you cut it to ensure you’re not removing a major branch. Later in the year, excessive summer growth can be tied back onto the trellis or support. Or simply cut off wayward branches.
How to grow passionfruit in pots
If you’ve only got a balcony to work with, fear not: you can still grow your passionfruit in a pot. You need to ensure you select a large enough pot to support the vine’s elaborate root system, the right soil that has good drainage and aeration, enough sunlight and a support structure like a trellis or sturdy stake.
Plant the passionfruit plant in the centre of the pot and water consistently (especially during dry spells), but not enough that the plant gets waterlogged. A good trick is to let the top inch of soil dry before watering again.
You can regularly trim your potted passion fruit, removing dead branches and stems to ensure the plant is putting all its energy into growth and fruiting.
Do you need two passionfruit trees to produce fruit?
There is a common misconception that you need two passionfruit vines for them to produce fruit. This is not necessarily true, as most varieties of passionfruit are self-fertile. Having more vines will increase your chances of successful pollination and, therefore, larger fruit yields.
If you only have space for one vine, you can consider hand-pollinating the flowers to help with the process. You can also do other things in your garden to try and encourage bees into your space, which will, in turn, increase the chances of your passionfruit plant producing fruit. Bee-friendly flowers include lavender, sunflowers and salvia. Also, avoid using pesticides, and try leaving a portion of your garden wild and untrimmed to encourage wildlife.
Spring gardening guides:
- The best climbing plants anyone can grow
- How to grow strawberries
- How to grow cherry tomatoes
- How to grow hydrangeas
- How to grow an avocado from seed
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