I've put a question in the Fruits and Nuts forum, but probably someone in europe will be able to help me. I'm looking for spp other than P caeruleum to grow in S France, hopefully to get edible fruit.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/738065/
Thanks
Passifloras for fruit
P. Edulus
You might like to see this www.tradewindsfruit.com/passionfruit.htm
Thanks both, but I should have been clearer - I don't think P edulis will survive our winters, so was looking for some hardier alternatives.
Thanks for the suggestion and link though.
I went through all the species in your link Pat, and it seems P caerulea an P incarnata are the hardiest. Now I'm looking to see if anyone has tasted the fruit from these. I have P caerulea in flower but no fruits yet. I remember my in laws had one fruiting on their fence, but we never tasted them, not sure why.
Very sorry philomel, but those fruit are not good to eat....The edible ones like warmth....and the ones you mentioned are used as grafting material for the more tropical fruit .....but if you have a frost free position against a brick wall ..or even have a tree in a warm position (acts as a greenhouse) that it can scramble through ...it may be worth a try...I grow 4 types here in Australia and the winters can go down to -2c....but I have sheltered areas and big trees for them to romp through....the toughest is the black one.Good Luck...they are a most delicious fruit!
P edulis will survive your winters it a hardy passion flower
Thanks chrissy, I won't bother with those for eating then.
Do you know the name of the black one you mention, I'd like to try that....
That would be good phicks. The info says hardy to 0C, but if you think it's worth a try I'll give it a go. Last winter was extra cold here. It went down to -15C, usually it goes to about -9C. Might it be one that disappears below ground if too cold and regrows from the roots?
might
If I can find a source here I'll try one and give it some deep straw cover over the roots in the winter. .....and of course put it in as sheltered a spot as I can find
Philomel...I don't know if this is any help but some of the best passionfruit I have ever grown came from supermarket fruit...the seeds sprout easily in warm humid conditions...now they don't come true to type but the seedlings all grew into strong healthy vines and were great fruit.I think the seedlings adapt better to your conditions.
I just spill (make sure the passionfruit is ripe) the contents over some good damp potting mix and sprinkle a little more over the top ...just enough to cover.Place in a warm but shady place and usually everyone of them come up.Our toughest variety is Ned Kelly.....can you buy passionfruit to eat over there?...if you can then give it a go...they grow very quickly....when the winter comes just protect a couple of ft at the base and it should come back in Spring/Summer.
Thanks very much for that tip chrissy
Yes, we do have passionfruit to buy here, so I'll definitely give that a go and tuck them up for the winter :)
Much cheaper option than a plant, and, as you say, they should adapt to the climate better.
Logees Greenhouse in Connecticut has Passiflora Edulis 'McCain'; self fertilizing, fast grower & delicious fruit. Mine was thriving and I'd had 2 huge yellow fruit from it. Went away for a while and my DH forgot to water it. Dead as a doornail. I'll be ordering anther one! I believe they are 'on sale' at the moment. $11,65, Hope this helps.
Thanks bedouin. Sorry your Passie died :( Good luck getting another. Unfortunately, as I live in France, I won't be able to get mine from the same source. My P caerulea is fruiting well, but I'm still hunting for a more edible one.......
I have some seeds of McCain if you'd like to try them.
That's really kind, I'd love some, thank you.
Is there anything from here you'd like?
Philomel, the fruit is from Passiflora Edulis 'McCain'; (Logees Greenhouse, Connecticut, USA) the flowers Passiflora 'Inspirations'. (Butterfly World, Pompano, Fl, USA. Alas, I may not have taken a photo of P.I. fruit which is extremely 'sweet'.
That fruit looks luscious and what amazing flowers. Great photos, thanks
What a beautiful flower - we will all want one, especially if the fruits are delicious too.
Pat, contact philomel; maybe you could do an exchange with her for some of the P.E.McCain seeds.
This will be my first year with my passie experiment.
This year they will spend winter in the greenhouse.
In spring they will go against the house wall.
I'm trialing
edulis
quadrangularis
feotidus
and capsularis.
i have careula outside and the fruit is nearly ripe. I havn't tried it before but i gave a few cuttings away some years back and a friend eats them every year and thinks they are great.
If i can get away with these then you shouldn't have a problem in france.
Are you in west france Phil?
Mike
Pat, I'll be very happy to share the seeds that bedouin is sending - will Dmail you :)
Mike, that sounds a good trial. I have caerulea on the chicken run fence and have had ripe fruit for some while - but I find it distinctly average LOL
So am very much looking forward to trying the P edulis McCain seed that bedouin is sending.
I'm in SW France - in Gascony, roughly half way between Toulouse and Biarritz. On the same latitude as Nice, just next to the Pyrenees instead of the Mediterranean.... 2 hours to the top of the Pyrenees, 2 hours to the Atlantic and around 4 to 5 hours to the Med.
Very hot, dry, sunny summers, the winters can be cold though - last year exceptionally so, we had -15C. More rain p/a than in Kent
I have found most passion flower seeds are a test of patience.
Some taking 6 months to finally germinate.
How do you know when passion fruit are ready to eat? I took 1 from mine tonight its a really bright colour but not sure when its ready.
Ruby glow was another i have growing
Mike
Mike, ideally, when the passion fruit fall to the ground That's The Time to eat them! They will be well wrinkled! When the skin is smooth, they are not mature enough to eat! Having said that, this is the only way one sees them for sale in a supermarkets here in the USA and that certainly does not stop me from cutting them open and enjoying them! If they are wrinkled, people have the idea that they are 'beyond their edible date'!
Of course if they have been in the Wrinkled mode for quite a while, they'll have Dried Up!...................
Which part do you eat? My P caerulea seem to have just fluffy tasteless stuff attached to the skin and then a ball of seeds coated in 'jelly' in the middle. The seedy bit tastes OK but is very pippy.........
philomel,
I've posted some recipes on the Recipe thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/773948/
The entire 'skin' is discarded. The seeds and gelatinous, aromatic juicy pulp are edible. Remove this from the shell with a spoon, mix it in fresh fruit salads or eat it as it comes from the shell. One of my favourite ways to use the passionfruit is as an addition to icing for a cake. Just add the fruit & seeds into the icing when mixing it in the bowl. The fragrance and taste is unforgetable!
Some South American grocery stores sell the frozen 'jelly' and many tinned Granadill/Passion fruit 'juice' products are on grocery shelves. Personally, I scoop out both the jelly and seeds and munch on them, but many people don't like eating seeds so just use the jelly part of the fruit.
Of course one can still enjoy the jelly while saving the seeds to share with others! :)
I've posted some recipes on the 'recipe' thread using Passion Fruit or 'Granadilla' by which it is also known: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/773948/
Wow you're a fund of information bedouin. Thanks very much. The recipes look great and I feel much more confident that I can even use the fruit from P caerulea now. I also have a juicer (crusher type) so if I find there are too many pips i can pop the flesh through that :) I love curd - so will certainly be trying that recipe! BTW do you mean 3oz of eggs?
How do you separate pips and jelly?
I've corrected that to read 3 eggs!
Separating pips from jelly: The recipe suggests pressing the fruit pulp through a sieve to remove seeds. I suppose one of the modern flexible rubber spatulas would do the trick, but the fingers are probably the most 'flexible' tool in the kitchen!
Thanks x 2 ;o))
The seeds have arrived, thanks so much bedouin!! Haven't opened the packet yet - but was passing the puter, so had to let you know.....
I'll be getting yours on to you asap Pat :)
That was pretty speedy! Enjoy them, hope they all germinate and you end up with delicious fruit and beautiful flowers! Share them around, as they are well worth having Philomel!
I certainly shall!
The P caerulea on the chicken fence grows like a weed and I put it where we can mow it as it can be very invasive here I understand.
Your P edulis McCain will have much more pampering and a sheltered site as it is less hardy. I plan to try one over an arch just outside the house and have wall sites marked for more - working on the theory that if I try them in different spots at least one of them will prove good and survive the winter. Not this winter of course, they'll be indoors til spring........
Good luck with them! And Good eating.
My McCain died due to lack of water while I was away (DH forgot to attend to it...) Anyhow, I should be receiving the replacement any day now! It will be a tiny plant in a 2.5 x 2.5" pot, so back into the garden it will go and once its a decent size , I too will be able to enjoy its fruit .....Sigh!
Sorry your plant died :( You aren't raising any from seed?
No P, I give the seeds away as I have quite a few Passi plants and they are pretty invasive here. I've dealt with Logees greenhouse for many years; their mini plants are always in excellent condition, so I find its easier to just order from them. I have certainly planted P. seeds in the past and grew them to pretty large sizes. But being as invasive as is their nature, I've had to take at least 3 down. Now I restrict...(!!)....myself somewhat! For me to keep them, they have to be butterfly plants, fragrant or proven for fruiting!
I have a neighbour who has, upon many occasions, used 'Round-Up on my plants (a plant killer) so I'm pretty careful about their growth (one learns from experience).......3 Police visits so far! Last one she sprayed and hit my herbs and I discussed this with the police. Is she trying to poison me???? It could be a messy court case for her, so hopefully she'll not be too quick to bring that spray out again! A branch of my cassia tree was just starting to lean into her property (planted for butterflies) and was sprayed mercylessly; and she hacked off huge amounts off my Cananga Odorata while I was out of town (source of Chanel #5 perfume). She has every right to cut down anything that leans into her property, but not spray it wilth weed-killer which is systemic!!!
Oh bedouin that's awful! Sorry you have to put up with that.
P caerulea is certainly pretty invasive here as I was saying. must be wonderful to have the tender beauties invasive as well LOL. I agree with limiting to the scented/fruiting ones. That's one of the ways I limit my plant urges too *grin*
BTW I've posted the seeds for you Pat, they went this morning. Hope they do well for you :)
Hi,
This Mc Cain surely does not look like P.edulis, it is certainly a hybrid with either P.cincinatta or another parentage, the fruit is like P.edulis flavicarpa and as you know seeds from hybrids will give anything except the same fruit they come from...The fruits you will find in France are always P.edulis and will in no way take negative temps, it does not grow any higher than 800m in elevation here (Reunion island). Even P.ligularis which can grow at 3000 m will not take frost, désolé Phil, you need a glass house for passionfruits or to move to tropical areas;))
Jjaques, the fruit posted under 'Bedouin's post is the P. Edulis 'McCain' from my vine; the flowers are P. 'Inspiration' also from my own vine, bought from Butterfly World, Pompano, Fl. Beautiful and fragrant to boot. I had one fruit from it. It died down, needless to say I was stressed, but this Spring its vining once again. No flowers so far!
My P 'Lady Margaret' is in bloom right now.
Went to take a photo of my replacement P. McCain - delighted to see masses of buds on it. I'm waiting for my DH to put the trellis up! Probably eat the fruit before its twining up the trellis! Oh well....
This is the P. McCain flower from last year.
