Author Topic: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread  (Read 51205 times)

TriangleJohn

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 265
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #25 on: August 02, 2015, 10:01:56 AM »
I snapped some photos while out in the garden this morning.

Here is one vine of my P. incarnata loaded with fruit growing in the row of blueberry bushes. These should start ripening by the end of the month. They don't usually get bigger. This species has a large void of air inside so there is often just a tablespoon or so of seeds/jelly in each one. If you wait until they fall off the vine they have an intense sweet-tart flavor.





Here's another shot showing the size next to my hand.





Here's a fruit from my P. edulis - grown from seed collected from purple store bought fruit (no idea of the variety). These vines are in large pots which I think keeps the fruit small. They turn purple and then I pick them and let them ripen further on the kitchen counter. They are filled with seeds/jelly and they taste good but the flavor is not as intense as my P. incarnata fruit. When I've tasted them in the tropics this type had really strong flavor.





And last here are some small fruit on my 'Lady Margaret' hybrid (P. incarnata crossed with P. coccinea). This is the first time growing them so I haven't tasted the fruit yet. I have them in small pots on the patio. Next year I will move them up into larger pots and hope for bigger plants with more fruit.





Triloba Tracker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
  • Psalms 104:14
    • USA, Middle Tennessee, Zone 7a
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #26 on: August 06, 2015, 09:53:10 AM »
Thanks for your post TJ - great pictures - very jealous!

What kind of soil are your incarnatas in? Do you have any in pots and if so, what growing medium are you using? Can you describe your fertilizing regimen, if any?

I've been really disappointed in my maypops so far. Something is just not right with my setup. I'm starting to suspect my buried pot approach and more specifically the medium I put into those pots.
Earlier I thought I had spider mites causing bronzing and other leaf damage, but now I have full-blown chlorosis. I suspect some kind of mineral deficiency or water issue. I think the soil I used may be too heavy (though I only have this issue on one of the 2 vines, which would argue against the soil as the issue)

On a side note, I have begun hunting wild maypops and have found several lately. I have uprooted some and have them indoors rooting-out.

This has got me wondering about grafting maypop - I would like to propagate my white vine. So I have a stupid question - does it make sense to graft a maypop for outdoor planting since it will die completely back each winter? Seems that when it emerges in the spring, it would simply be the rootstock pushing growth and the graft would be lost. Right?

TriangleJohn

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 265
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #27 on: August 07, 2015, 09:12:27 AM »
I have the same problem with any Passionvine I grow in a pot. I use just regular bagged potting soil. I should probably add some compost. They do seem to be hungry plants. They probably want a dilute fertilizer treatment every week, which is what I do for my citrus trees but for some reason I never think of doing to these guys even though they are near each other. I will say that my P. edulis suffered greatly and then all of a sudden turned around and now look super healthy. I thought they were going to die. Maybe their roots have grown down into the ground through the drain holes in their pots. I won't know until winter when I have to move them into the greenhouse.

As far as the P. incarnatas growing out in the yard - my soil is medium quality, kind of sandy in spots, kind of rich and dark in spots. I cannot determine a rhyme or reason for the spots they pop up in, so I'm not sure if it is soil quality that guides them.

Yes, you're grafted vine would die back and next years growth would revert back to the rootstock. I would be better to try and root cuttings, but I don't know when to do that with passionvines.

Triloba Tracker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
  • Psalms 104:14
    • USA, Middle Tennessee, Zone 7a
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #28 on: August 14, 2015, 01:00:18 PM »
I have the same problem with any Passionvine I grow in a pot.

Which problem is that, malnutrition/chlorosis?

Thanks again for the info.

I recently found a wild vine on a creek bank that was loaded with fruits. Interestingly, it was in a very shady spot - it might get a few hours of afternoon sun. This contradicts things I've read that suggest it won't flower in shady conditions. It makes me re-think where I have mine planted (full sun).
I am also starting to think these need HEAVY mulching if planted in full sun. Every wild maypop I've seen is growing up out of thick underbrush or very tall/thick pasture grass where the base of the plant is heavily shaded, etc.

fyliu

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3216
    • Burbank/Covina, CA 10a
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #29 on: August 15, 2015, 05:15:48 PM »
Mine only got morning sun. Exactly half the sky is shaded by a tall tree. It flowered just fine and it still pops up every year and flowers after I stopped wanting to grow it.

Delvi83

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 402
    • Italy
    • View Profile
    • Il Gusto della Natura
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #30 on: August 17, 2015, 12:38:40 PM »
I don't think P. incarnata needs full sun....I'm curious to know the taste of this fruits...may be depends on the cultivars? do they taste sweet?

fyliu

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3216
    • Burbank/Covina, CA 10a
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #31 on: August 17, 2015, 04:35:44 PM »
Mine tastes like pineapple and banana. More sweet than P. edulis.

Triloba Tracker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
  • Psalms 104:14
    • USA, Middle Tennessee, Zone 7a
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #32 on: August 17, 2015, 04:43:05 PM »
Mine tastes like pineapple and banana. More sweet than P. edulis.

Wow that's another ringing endorsement of P. incarnata! Makes me anticipate my one big fruit's ripening even more LOL

I still can't believe there are no improved cultivars of this vine. I saw one reference online to someone trying to do it, not sure if it's legit.

New question - any one have experience propagating this species, specifically, via cuttings?
I'm trying a few cuttings and also some shoots with some rhizome tissue. I am struggling with how long to keep the humidity up (currently I have them bagged in clear shopping bags.)
I've read this species can take 3 months to root from cuttings, which makes it seem like bags could result in mold or other issues for that long. I have no experience doing this whatsoever! :p

TriangleJohn

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 265
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #33 on: August 18, 2015, 03:49:02 PM »
I collected mine from the wild by gathering seeds and they've always been true to the original form (shorter vines with tons of flowers and large fruit). I'm getting ready to try rooting a bunch of other stuff so I will snip a few of these to see if they root.

There is talk that someone involved in horticulture at some university years ago was trying to develop commercial P. incarnata and also hybrids with P. edulis. With the goal being better flavor, bigger fruit and adding some cold hardiness to P. edulis. He accomplished the crosses but nothing ever happened to his research as far as I know. Local researchers/friends of mine are hoping to find any plants or material he may have left behind. I think he was based at a  school in Florida and that this was many years ago. They mentioned all this when they toured my garden and saw my wimpy collection of passionvines.

Here in Raleigh NC, with NC State, I get toured by hort people all the time and more than once someone that has lived in South America or Mexico just happened to be here in the fall when my vines were dropping fruit and even they remarked that the flavor was just as good as P. edulis back home. My only complaint is that the fruit is never full of juice, the air space inside is too big.

Triloba Tracker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
  • Psalms 104:14
    • USA, Middle Tennessee, Zone 7a
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #34 on: August 18, 2015, 04:10:19 PM »
That's awesome, TJ.
Thanks for the info. If you find anything out about that orphaned research, keep us posted!

I am doing pretty well I think particularly with uprooted shoots from the wild. The straight cuttings I am less enthusiastic about.
I am starting to think maybe seeds will be easier. I also hope to fully transplant a few wild ones.
I want to plant several around my property in various micro-environments to see how they do.


**Any tips with starting from seed?** Seems pretty straightforward though I've read about soaking in various concoctions and that they require a very warm environment to germinate....


fyliu

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3216
    • Burbank/Covina, CA 10a
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #35 on: August 19, 2015, 03:21:28 AM »
Seeds germinate really well. No special treatment required. Maybe if you get a batch of really old seeds, then treat it with hormone. I got my seeds originally from HorizonHerbs in Oregon.

I used to dig up shoots from the lawn to give away. They worked well but you have to dig deep. I never tried to root cuttings from P. incarnata before.

TriangleJohn

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 265
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #36 on: August 19, 2015, 08:20:13 PM »
I collected the seeds for my Maypops way back in 2005 or '06 so I don't remember if they were tricky. They have certainly spread all over the yard now (which was what I wanted).

Delvi83

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 402
    • Italy
    • View Profile
    • Il Gusto della Natura
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #37 on: August 24, 2015, 04:39:38 AM »
If better than P. edulis I wonder why it's not commercialized ?!

Triloba Tracker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
  • Psalms 104:14
    • USA, Middle Tennessee, Zone 7a
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #38 on: August 24, 2015, 03:08:24 PM »
If better than P. edulis I wonder why it's not commercialized ?!

I think they're saying better than P. edulis in a temperate environment. I think it's been stated that tropically-grown P. edulis are definitely better than P. incarnata. I would expect that, at least.

Also has been mentioned that the per-fruit edible yield is low on P. incarnata.

fyliu

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3216
    • Burbank/Covina, CA 10a
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #39 on: August 24, 2015, 08:46:13 PM »
Also has been mentioned that the per-fruit edible yield is low on P. incarnata.
Yes, and it requires pollination, unlike some edulis strains.

Also, it is susceptible to caterpillars.

For certain people like my parents, they stay away from edulis because of the "smelly socks" aroma. That's just a matter of taste preference. Now they stay say from all passiflora after eating too many.

Triloba Tracker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
  • Psalms 104:14
    • USA, Middle Tennessee, Zone 7a
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #40 on: August 24, 2015, 09:21:01 PM »
Also has been mentioned that the per-fruit edible yield is low on P. incarnata.
Yes, and it requires pollination, unlike some edulis strains.

Also, it is susceptible to caterpillars.

For certain people like my parents, they stay away from edulis because of the "smelly socks" aroma. That's just a matter of taste preference. Now they stay say from all passiflora after eating too many.
Good point about self-sterility of incarnata.
Funny about your parents not liking the smell of edulis. It is a strong smell for sure. However, I adore the smell - the lack of aroma of incarnata is a bummer for me.

Triloba Tracker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
  • Psalms 104:14
    • USA, Middle Tennessee, Zone 7a
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #41 on: September 03, 2015, 09:54:43 AM »
Well, Varmints ate the 2 biggest fruits off my white maypop vine.
I went out the other day to find the smallest of the fruits on the ground - a ripe fruit!
I left it on the counter for a few days and it wrinkled up as expected - all was going well.

It had a lovely fragrance - not pungent like an edulis - very fruity and pleasant.

I cut into it today and it was amazing!  Very sweet and flavorful. Virtually no sourness at all except at the very end, after sucking on the goop for several seconds.

So my question is......now that I have seeds, do I need to stratify them? I have read that this is required for Maypop and it makes some sense. But others including folks here have said nothing is required.

What should I do? (if nothing else I will stratify some and not others)

TriangleJohn

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 265
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #42 on: September 03, 2015, 12:59:35 PM »
I've always sown the seeds in the fall and looked for sprouts the following summer - let winter do the hard work. Sometimes they sprout earlier and sometimes later. There is always a crowd of pots off in the corner of my garden during the winter. Even though I have a greenhouse where I sprout and root all sorts of plants, I find that winter hardy plants do better if allowed to sprout the normal way rather than speed things up in the heated gh - in the end you end up weak plants.

Triloba Tracker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
  • Psalms 104:14
    • USA, Middle Tennessee, Zone 7a
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #43 on: September 03, 2015, 02:41:06 PM »
I've always sown the seeds in the fall and looked for sprouts the following summer - let winter do the hard work. Sometimes they sprout earlier and sometimes later. There is always a crowd of pots off in the corner of my garden during the winter. Even though I have a greenhouse where I sprout and root all sorts of plants, I find that winter hardy plants do better if allowed to sprout the normal way rather than speed things up in the heated gh - in the end you end up weak plants.

Good to know! So basically you are stratifying outdoors. Makes perfect sense for this temperate species. I am going to play around with it.

I also have about 7 cuttings that seem to be doing great, have already rooted. May plant those out soon or (more likely) let them overwinter outdoors with some protection for the roots.

I'm so excited that the fruit lived up to my hopes....I continue to be amazed that no one is talking about this fruit.

Every ol' timer I talk to about them says "they're terrible!" Lots of education to be done.

Triloba Tracker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
  • Psalms 104:14
    • USA, Middle Tennessee, Zone 7a
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #44 on: September 03, 2015, 09:15:19 PM »
red letter day - I went to check on my last hanging fruit and it fell off right into my hand.

No 'possum's gonna get that sucker!!! I was so worried i'd lose it before I had time to build some kind of cage for it.

This one's a little bigger than a racquetball and spherical. Already starting to wrinkle a bit on the vine.

Has a wonderful fragrance.....

TriangleJohn

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 265
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #45 on: September 04, 2015, 09:42:20 AM »
Yep. This winter I'm taking out part of my long blackberry row to make room for a Maypop trellis. All my gardening friends think I am crazy. Which may be true, but not about passionvines.

Triloba Tracker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
  • Psalms 104:14
    • USA, Middle Tennessee, Zone 7a
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #46 on: September 04, 2015, 12:34:12 PM »
Yep. This winter I'm taking out part of my long blackberry row to make room for a Maypop trellis. All my gardening friends think I am crazy. Which may be true, but not about passionvines.

Lol yep - I have grand plans for a big expansion of maypops in my fledgling garden. I need to figure out why my current vines are not happy though - whether soil, light (not likely) or the bottomless buried pots were the issue.
Can't decide whether to plant straight in ground or try pots again with 5-1-1 mix, or even in mounds.

I have fantasies of a big operation and selling to chefs or at farmers market but doubt that'll come about.

TriangleJohn

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 265
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #47 on: September 08, 2015, 06:20:05 PM »
Those are grand ideas. I made jelly with some of my fruit last year and it took a while to find enough ripe fruit and process it into juice. Even with my super fruitful vines. I think a bigger market would be with the medicinal herb folks. I don't know if it is the dried flowers or leaves or roots but there is a demand for P. incarnata plant parts.

Triloba Tracker

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1343
  • Psalms 104:14
    • USA, Middle Tennessee, Zone 7a
    • View Profile
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #48 on: September 09, 2015, 04:33:09 PM »
I think a bigger market would be with the medicinal herb folks. I don't know if it is the dried flowers or leaves or roots but there is a demand for P. incarnata plant parts.

Yep it's the leaves, stems, and flowers that can be dried and used medicinally. I have tried it myself as a simple herbal tea and it really does seem to induce a restful sleep. Also said to have anti-anxiety effects.

The tea doesn't taste so good by itself, though.

I found that the skin of the ripe fruit has a very interesting taste. Sort of sweet/savory. It reminded me of fried durian chips I tried recently from a Thai market.

Delvi83

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 402
    • Italy
    • View Profile
    • Il Gusto della Natura
Re: Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) Thread
« Reply #49 on: September 10, 2015, 03:03:29 PM »
How cold-resistant is Maypop? Is it like P. caraulea?