Blue Bouquet

This passi has been putting on a real show this week. Here's a few shots.

Every morning is a another picture.

The afternoon brings better light and more color on the flowers.

In the morning the flowers are not as blue.

This is just before it is so shady that the flash would go off.

Beautiful. Love the first picture. It shows the bloom so well.

You have some of the best passi blooms! I really like that blue one.....

Flicker,
I'm glad you posted this pic. I have it but have not had mine bloom yet. I took serveral cuttings to trade. Thanks for sharing your pictures.

Bugfreak,
I suggest that you ALWAYS grow two vines for yourself and keep one on the side to take cuttings. At the rate you take cuttings, you will never see a flower.
As your collection grows, the need for cuttings isn't so great--because you will have what is available.
I find that it is good to grow a couple of your favorite plants in gallon pots and, when they are setting buds, take a couple of them to a garden center you use often. I trade for plants like this occassionally. This works because you are growing plants that they don't have.

Flicker,
Thanks for the pointers. I'll also have to keep in mind the trading with local garden centers idea. I don't see why it wouldn't work here. There are a couple nurseries here who already know me by my first name so maybe that's a good thing. They give me free pots/containers here and there.

I saved my from a nursery as it was about dead. It is cooking now. I know what I have to look forward to. This is a bloomer of mine(Lavender Lady) This had 38 blooms today. Thanks nice pics.

Do you have these guys there? I have a regular, but today she invited her buddys over(6) for the big blooming party!

I have lots of bumble bees--and yes, mine do sting when caught under a dress. I suppose that you have a nest of these wasps or bees near your yard and the word's out that the eatting is good. Destroying the nest is the best way to get rid of them.
Good Luck.

No these are carpenter bee's God's helpers. They make sure they have logs in the Passi growing fields for them to build there nests in. They pollenate the passis that don't self-pollenate. Check out the yellow on the back of the one in the first pic. This one is my personal pet.

No these are carpenter bee's God's helpers. They make sure they have logs in the Passi growing fields for them to build there nests in. They pollenate the passis that don't self-pollenate. Check out the yellow on the back. This one is my personal pet.

Hummmm......"Passi growing fields"? Are you a professional grower?

No, I read that in Vanderplanks book when I was wondering how my P. victoria became in a fruity way.The same way that almond and other tree growers have people bring bees in for pollenation. Thats what the carpenter bees do.

Wonderful pictures. Bees do a lot of work for us,for sure. Our carpenter bees have yellow on them.
Victoria ia a nice flower. I assume it is a hybrid. Can you eat the fruit ? What are you pollening it with?

WOW! All your Passi's are sooooo beautiful!

I have lots of foliage, but no blooms yet (sigh). What type of fertilizer do you use on them to get such beautiful flowers?

Shirley, BB took its time to set its first blooms--and they were few. This is a 2nd yr plant overwintered in the greenhouse. The extra maturity makes a lot of difference.
I do use rose fertilizer occassionally.
BB is loved by fritillary caterpillars since the leaves are nice and tender. You will have to choose between butterflies or flowers! On this vine, I use Ortho Home Defense. It is not for plants but has worked on mine just fine.

Shirley I use Miracle-Gro bloom buster (10-52-10) Put it on and they will come(blooms)

This is my Lavender Lady.

Thanks Flicker & Monterey for your information.

Since I have Miracle-Gro Bloom Buster fertilizer already at hand, I'll give it a dose of that tonight! Mine is a 1st year plant, so that probably explains it. However, I don't know that it is root hardy in zone 7a. I could try to dig up the rooted plant and overwinter it in my heated sunroom. Any thoughts on this? You both are lucky since you live in warmer zones and don't have to worry about hard frosts and/or snow.

BB is not hardy here in z8b. I left 2 plants out and potted 2 plants in a 10" plastic pot in the greenhouse last winter. I lost the ones outside. Actually, Most passis are hardy only to zone 9, if that. I tried several out last winter and kept the same ones in the greenhouse. Even with good mulch I lost all but caerulea, incense, Lady Margaret, Lavender Lady, and alato-caerulea. LL and AC did come back, but poorly. Next year I will bring those in too.
I need a bigger greenhouse!!

I just checked in my garden to see the variety of Passi I have. It is P. Caerulea. I just surfed the Web to find out if this variety was hardy in my zone 7a garden.........it's NOT........(sigh). Looks like I'll be digging it up at the end of October and trying to overwinter it.