Name this Passion flower, please...

I once knew the name, but have forgotten. The petals are normally pulled back more, but this one opened with some leaves supporting the petals in a wider extension.

This shot shows the petals in a more typical habit.

Hi.

From here, it looks like a red passionflower (passiflora coccinea) but I could be wrong. I just finished taking out one that was threatening to take over our town. It was so heavy, it collapsed the arbor I had built for it.

It blooms when it feels like it, that is to say not to often. It grows like crazy, grabbing its neighbours with it tendrils and it doesn't attract butterflies. Good riddance, I say.

Sylvain.

Here in zone 6, we don't have quite the same problem. She does bloom irregularly, but heavily at times (like now).

Had I left mine go about its rampage, it would have bloomed just about now. It only seems to bloom on new growth and sporadically. Anyhow, the garbage truck took it away and I don't miss it one bit. We got it out in one piece, arbor and all and I needed help from a neighbour to get into the garbage container. It filled it halway.

Sylvain.

How tall does that one get?

Although the harbor was only about 8 feet high, each branch circled it many times before it got into the rest of the plants. I have seen it grab a telephone pole and go all the way to the top. It's not as bad as kudzu but it is a strong grower.

Sylvain.

I have 3 on my fence and it's grabbed onto the live oak above; not the same cultivar, but I think they're all pretty voracious- we're constantly having to hack it off the neighbor's house too.

It's now higher than the peak of the 2nd story roof. I thought the shade of being inside the tree's overhang (plus the palmetto) would slow it down, but nope, it's totally unstoppable!

The date on this pic is July 9, last year.

Here's what it looks like today:

And one more, from above. Where it thins out to the right is the corner of the fence, the tree is just beyond it, and up it goes, but I couldn't fit it in because of the house gutters.

These are three plants, one Incense, one Lady Margaret and one ummm...other, whose name I can't remember right now...lol.

If you're looking for a nice red Passie, I'd recommend the P.vitifolia. It is more easily controlled, blooms profusely, fruits easily, and has more interesting foliage.

Actually, it looks like yours IS a P. vitifolia. Notice the grapevine like leaves...

This message was edited Oct 11, 2007 2:29 PM