Passiflora, Passion Flower, Passion Vine 'Sherry'

I obtained this plant at a local nursery. Had it for about 8 years. After attending a butterfly seminar I planted a blue passion vine on ...Read Morethe other side of the fence. Nothing kills these vines. They can cover everything in sight if you don't keep a close eye on them. I have a crepe nearby and have to constantly cut tendrils off. I love the beautiful red color.

I also ordered Passiflora Sherry from Wayside Gardens. The first year, the order was never delivered, so I canceled it for a credit vouch...Read Moreer. The second year I ordered, it was delivered, but it promptly died within a week. Of course when I notified Wayside, there was no more available. Again I was sent a credit voucher. I have severely cut back ordering from Wayside due to many disappointments.

Update 9/22/2011:

I feel I must downgrade my Rating from Positive to Neutral. The reason is that this cultivar after it's ...Read Morefirst winter has proven to be much less hardy than claimed. Despite growing in a pot and moving indoors during all nights that fell below 40 degrees, the plant died back (in stages) to the soil line and only started growing new shoots in June. As a result it only reached blooming size within a week of when it was purchased as a cutting (from Wayside Gardens), in late September.

OTOH, the flowers are simply stunning--easily the best true red Passion Flower I have either grown or even seen. As such I intend to give it all the attention I can to try and keep it alive.

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This is a difficult plant to come by as the hybridizer has allowed distribution--so far--to be handled only by Wayside Gardens, which is not a seller that I prefer to deal with. Upon ordering it, they gave the impression that it is in stock when in fact it was back-ordered and the date delayed 2 or 3 times. It was also pretty expensive for a very small plant--$25.68 total with tax and postage. However, I found the combination of the picture and the description as ideal for container growing intriguing enough to take a chance.

The plant did end up arriving before the last estimated back-order date, but I still wasn't very impressed. The small plant had only two leaf nodes and no active growing tip. I had to pamper it for a full month (now mid-June) before it started to grow. By the end of June I repotted it to a 5" pot and moved it to a sunny location. Over the next three months it was growing steadily and by the middle of September, buds were clearly forming less than one foot above the pot and have continued to form buds at virtually every leaf node on a plant now about four feet tall. The first two flowers opened by the end of September.

The flowers are stunning, with as deep and pure a red as you'll find in any flower, even in full sun. So far, the flowers open flat in the early morning and remain so until mid-afternoon when the petals and sepals becomes more reflexed. The flower's and the vine's compact habit seem to live fully up to the hype about the plant. Hopefully, it will become more widely available in the not too distant future. The only downside to date is that the flowers are short-lived, lasting about one or two days at most. This is partly offset by the high density of buds.

It may be noteworthy to point out that this has been a very cool summer here in the SF Bay Area (zone 9b). I plan to leave the potted plant outside for the winter except for any rare freezes (Zone 9b). This is overall a very desirable passion flower plant.