Passion Flowers

Tropical. Fascinating. Otherworldly. Passion flowers may look exotic, but they can be grown almost anywhere. You may even find these delicate-looking vines growing along the side of the road. If you’re in the market for a climber that can cover an arbor or trellis with handsome foliage and unusual blossoms in a single season, check out the world of passion flowers. The genus Passiflora contains more than 500 species (and hundreds of cultivars and hybrids), so the common name passion flower can describe a number of different plants. They all share one thing: fragrant flowers that remain open for only a day or two.

Passion flowers climb by long tendrils produced at the leaf axils. They can reach 20 to 30 feet in height with distinctive flowers that have a wide, flat petal base with five or 10 petals in a flat or reflexed circle. Look closely and you’ll see the ovary and stamens are held atop a tall, distinctive stalk that is encircled by delicate filaments. Passion flowers are usually trained to grow on a vertical structure. And in