I am in a slightly warmer zone 6b-7. Some years warmer, some years colder. It grows wild here. Vines go dormant after the first hard freeze and but comes back out again the following year. There was some growing down along the creek on the road easement, but appears to be gone now. Don't know if the drought got it or if some farmer or the utility guys sprayed it. Wish I had dug it up and moved it onto my property. It was gorgeous!

I bet if you mulched it deeply you could grow it. The vines are like Clematis vines - thin and woody and somewhat fragile, but the root system goes deep. In the wild, it likes moist, well-drained, loamy soil that contains lots of decayed leaves.

~ Annie

Brenda,

I was lucky enough to see a huge one for the first time this year in an older suburb near Chicago - we're in zone 5 and sometimes we gets lots of snow but oftentimes part of our winters consist of very little snowcover which I think makes it tougher on perennials & groundcovers.

The woman who owned the house said it was already a mature sized vine about 6-7 feet when she moved in 7 years ago.

But the vine was definately in a sheltered area - it near the SE corner of a brick house (brick is warmer then clapboard or stucco) and it was partially sheltered by a large 'Capitata' Yew on the corner. So you could say zone 5 but I would say from the partial protection of the evergreen and warmth of the brick it probably was closer to zone 5b or perhaps even zone 6.

When I saw it was a good 6 foot plus and in full flower in September. It had seedlings all over the place and I was lucky enough to be the recipient of a couple which I planted right away at my place.

I took my cue from her and planted mine right up against the brick of my house on a west exposure - so we'll have to see if it makes it through this winter.

Yes, the one that grew down on the creek was sheltered on the north side by tall prairie grasses on the bank, trees and bushes on the south, so it also had filtered afternoon shade in summer.

Here, it goes black and icky!!! lol. However, like they said, protected and mulch - if you can afford to loose it, go for it.

Nancy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Maypop Passionflower: Passiflora incarnata

Like Annie, they grow wild here. I was brush hogging on top of a hill once after we fist moved here and there was this vine with pale lavender, fragrant blooms covering the flat top of the hill. I was just amazed and found that it is a native passion flower vine. Some years it is around and others it is not.

The scent is almost sickening to me, but you have to get up close to smell it.

We are considered northern Missouri for planting because of our elevation, so possibly zone 5.

OK, so it seems they are probably hardy. Why don't more people grow them?

I think I will give it a try this spring.
Thanks!

They're pretty easy to root and overwinter as well. You could always take cuttings in the fall just in case it doesn't survive due to exceptionally cold weather.

I was browsing the seed racks at RKO today(again)and saw two slots for Passion Flower Vine - but they were empty. Must have been a very popular item.

They are considered weeds here. I fight them all the time to keep them out of my large containers.

Isn't that odd how one area treasures what another tries to eradicate? Maybe I should just forget about plumbago in that big planter and enjoy the passion vine!

I found some at Lowes today. I decided to presprout them since I have read that they have difficulty germinating. I put them in moist coffee filters and ziplock bags. They're laying on my homemade bottom heat chamber. I hope they germinate. I have a red one. These are bluish and light green.

The Passion Vine is grown regularly here in SE Michigan. Many of the Italian immigrants pass these flowers along and they flourish here and can get out of control (20-40 feet in one season). They die back completely in the Winter and grow a foot a week during the Hot Humid June - Sept.

After going to Milwaukee several times, I think Detroit is a zone or two more temperate than anywhere in Wisconsin. I think your weather is more like the northern Lower Peninsula and UP than SE Mich. I know that even Chicago is a zone cooler than Detroit.

You may want to try it. Cover the roots with mulch during the die off period and see if they come up the next year.

Good Luck!

theyardman...Do you know what species you have seen in the Detroit area?

I'm 6b/7a but the variety that I have, passiflora incensa, would work in zones 5 and 6. You can't kill it. I know because my husband doesn't like the vine and has ripped it up a few times where it has spread. It comes back.

Here in zone 8 it is a difficult to eradicate but lovely weed. It is very invasive and will spread by runners under ground. I spent many hours summer before last digging those runners up. I think I have won the battle, but it is too soon to declare victory.

On the other hand, butterfly bushes that are a real problem in some areas grow where they are planted here.

Like Linda, I am amused by how things can be treasured in one area and detested in another.
kay

A few years ago, we actually sold it at the nursery that I work in. We sold it as an annual even though I heard it could be a possible perennial. Unfortunately, we don't have enough humidity for them and too extreme of winters here in Colorado. They didn't even do that well growing as an annual due to our hot summers. But if you find it a protected spot you should definitely go for it. They are so cool! Haha

I bought a pack of seeds last year and never planted the passion flowers. This year I was very motivated and planted 16 seeds. Disappointed with the lack of seedlings when all the other plants started their growth, I did a search on the internet. I read it can take up to 12 months for Passion Flower seeds to germinate. Well discouraged, I still carted the container from sun spot to sun spot, inside.

Well less than a month after sinking the seeds into the soil, I found a seedling! Then two!! Now I have 5 growing, all in around 4 weeks.

Looking forward and hoping to seeing more growth and flowers this summer!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: After 2 1/2 Weeks of Germination

My mom grows them in pots and trims them back in fall and keeps them indoors for the winter.

Martha

I grew up in Cleveland suburbs in an area close enough to Lake Erie to be zone 6. I remember an elementary school classmate bringing a maypop flower in to show-and-tell. Since I still remember it almost 50 years later, it must have made quite an impression, or maybe (since I come from a non-gardening family) it was the novel idea that one could get excited about plants.

I've grown 2 pawpaws, 1 died so I'd need another one to pollinate the surviving one. I'm trying hardy kiwi and maypop right now. I was told that they 'might' need some kind of protection from heavy snow. I will trim, mulch and tee-pee them. I think it's worth a try. Wish me luck,

I think you're fine in zone 6

I live in Indianapolis. Here is mine. It doesn't matter if it dies back because it grows so fast once it comes back up. I just mulch it well to protect over the winter.

James, are you saying that this red passion flower is growing in the ground all year round, and that all you do is to mulch the roots in winter? That would be amazing, because I've never heard of a red variety that is hardy in colder areas such as Indy. There are some that are hardy in zone 6, or even 5, but all the deep red ones like yours are only hardy in zone 9 or warmer.

That's been my experience with this one. I don't remember the name of the cultivar. I bought it at a local nursery in Indianapolis called Damon's.

The species is passiflora vitifolia. They are only hardy to zone 9 through 11. I am very shocked that it is perennial in your zone 5b. How many inches of mulch did you use?

Lady margret is read and I grew it in wisconsin...the may pops came up in racine for my mother in law for over 30 years. We have milegers out here where they sell 4 varieties and all 4 are beautiful. Eventhough three are purple. I am hoping this year to find a sunburst, but unless I find someone who sells the plant the seeds are hard to grow.

I cover them with a huge deep pile of mulch in the winter and then remove that in spring.

I live in Omaha, NE which is the northern part of zone 5b. I also live just 10 blocks from the edge of downtown so our tempurature is generally higher than in the suburbs because of heat from the city. Two years ago, I started growing passion vines. I had them growing on a trellis on the west side of my porch and they did great. They had full afternoon sun. By mid July, I had 4 or 5 flowers a day. (The flowers only last about 3 days)

I always dug up the plant and tried to keep it alive in a south window but it always seemed to die just before it was time to move it outside. To my suprise, this year I have 7 new shoots growing out of the ground! The furthest is about 5 feet from where last year's plant was.

my sister bought one last year but she kept hers in a pot and wintered it in a heated garage. It looked dead but once brought outside, it sprung back to life nd already has 10 feet of growth. She had a different variety than I did.

Today is June 23, 2016 and my shoots are close to 2 feet in length. I do not know the name of my plant but I have added pictures for reference. One photo is last summer and the other is today. I did nothing to protect the plant last winter since I dug up the main plant. Last winter was bitterly cold from January to March but the plant survived!

Hey all! Great topic! I was give some starts last spring of Passion Flowers and they took right off. This year it is everywhere. I have never ate the fruit that it leaves behind but it is edible. The lady who gave me the starts said that it will climb up walls. I haven't seen any of mine doing that yet and have doubts that it will without some type of support. Have any of you all had it to climb without supports?

My friend in zone 7a had a passion flower grow up 2 stories to her roof! The flower has almost no rivals for beauty but planting it is asking for trouble. Also suckers come up in a wide area. I would never plant it.

I live in Chicago on a Zone5b 6a border. I planted maypop by seed last year. It grew a few feet and died to the ground at first frost. It came back very late spring from the roots, grew about 5 feet and then put out flowers for the first time. Mid to late summer we had a host of fruit developing (the size of a large limes). It's October now and I've harvested a few fruit to try. They taste like lemon, very sour, not quite as juicy though, and with seeds that remind me of cucumber. I enjoyed them but then again I love eating fresh lemons and limes so my taste buds are clearly odd. The taste isn't really that close to tropical passion fruit although I am a little concerned that my growing season isn't truly long enough for them to ripen completely. I'll try them again right before the first frost to see if their flavour profile has improved beyond simple lemon. Anyway to answer your question the plant seems hardy enough for a standard winter here. If the fruit has a more complex flavour this November I'll post an update though I have my doubts. if you need a small vine with amazing flowers I recommend this plant. Oh One more small problem I almost forgot, when the vines comes back in the spring they come back a few feet off we're they died to the ground, so if you need a plant with a very standard or controlled growing space be forewarned it can be a little unruly but still completely manageable in my opinion.

I'm in zone 5b (almost zone 6) in Central Indiana and I have Passion Flowers popping up everywhere in the yard lol. I planted cuttings about 3 years ago and now they are everywhere. I usually let them take over by our front porch. They climb the railing and look great by the end of Summer. Awesome flowers! But, I find myself having to mow over alot of them because they pop up in the middle of the yard. They can definitely take over if you don't keep them in check

We live in Omaha, zone 5b. We live in an older neighborhood and have a chain link fence on the west side of our house that gets full sun as well as bitter cold winter weather without any protection.

For years we have grown a Maypop Passion vine that covers about 50 feet of the fence by the end of summer. It always comes back every year even after the coldest of winters. The flowers are beautiful and smell amazing! Many new blooms pop everyday on this FAST growing vine.

A word of caution: This plant has spread all over our west lawn. The vine produces fruit but that is not how it spreads. My best guess is that it has created a root system that grows underground just as fast as it does above ground, over a foot of growth per day. The random sprouts in our lawn are easily managed by mowing. If you are meticulous about your grass you will need to spray or dig up these random shoots. All in all, our neighbors constantly comment on the beauty of the plant and we love having a unique plant nobody else has.

I just ordered some Maypops, color looks like the type Shad Burns has in Omaha. We'll find out how well they do here in Central New York State. We're about 5 miles from Oneida lake, closer to forty for Ontario. Plants were rated for zone 5, but I have doubts with some of the freezes that we get. They will also have to compete against some Trumpet vines, Listeria, Vine Honeysuckle, and a assortment of grapes on a chain link fence. The meek are weak, and the strong must eat.

The Maypop passion flower vine my other half planted over 10 years ago on the east side of the house and they come back every year. He planted them right against the house and perhaps a little deeper than normal. They have not froze out as of yet. We have had -20 Fahrenheit many times since planting.They are actually multiplying in number. I now have 6-8 plants instead of one or two initially

I live in Chicago, in the city and am so fascinated by the Passion flower but I am concerned after spending a good 4 years of eradicating a trumpet vine suckers after digging out the main plant and also a wisteria. If I were to put it in a pot to avoid it spreading on its own, how large a pot would you recommend?

My passion vine comes back every year in Omaha. HOWEVER, I now realize that it must spread underground because I find new shoots all over my yard. They are easily controlled simply by mowing and most of the shoots I dig up and give to friends because they love them.

My sister also lives here and she has a different variety than mine that she has always kept in a pot for about 6 years now. She rarely gets flowers unlike my plant that is full of flowers all summer long. I don’t know if the pot or the different type of vine is the cause. My best guess is that it is a little of both. I know when I lived in FL passion vines grew wild in ditches that always provided plenty of wet soil. They definitely spread like a trumpet vine which I also have.

It’s been so long now that I forget the name of my plant.

I grow clematis diamantina which I think is the same look..

Passion does indeed grow very like Trumpet vine . Clematis is the only inon-invasive vine I have found. It was quite a battle to eradicate it, and wisteria was another lovely ground-grabbing vine that took year s to eradicate.

kay

@Shad Burns I'm curious, where did you buy your seeds or vines from? I grow them too, and I'm always curious about the source of passiflora incarnata, when grown successfully in zone 5/6. Mine were selected from the wild, in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. I'm always interested in hardier strains.

@Helene Albert I am in zone 5b, Chicago suburbs, literally a stone throws away from you. I grow passiflora incarnata successfully. I have fruit that's ready to harvest at end of August continuing through to October. It's truly a may sprouting perennial for me.

If anyone is growing passiflora incarnata in zone 4/5/6a, please send me a message through Houzz by clicking my profile. I cannot send messages by default to most people, because messages are not enabled by default in Houzz until you go to your profile and enable them under "advanced settings." You should be able to send to me, however. I collect hardy passiflora incarnata. There is some genetic variation. Even the white version of P. incarnata aren't the same, with at least 5+ different strains floating around.

I have one growing well and spreading in zone 6b

I planted one before I got into growing daylilies, and it ha very pretty blossoms. the problem was, it sent out roots everywhere and when I discovered them in my flower beds, I had to dig up many feet of space to remove all of the spreading that was underground. It was quite a job and I will not add that one again here. I do live in zone 8 and ther is a very long season here for plants to grow.

kay

I live half way between Green Bay and Milw. I've had the same passion flower for a number of years. South side of house up against the foundation. I do get fruit but growing season is too short for it to fully ripen.

I have been growing them for years in Wisconsin, zone 5. I got the cuttings from a friend, and they have come back year after year as a perennial. They seem to do fine on all sides of my house - very hardy. I love them, but they do tend to spread. I just pluck the ones I don't want and dry them for tea, or toss them.

I have one behind my kitchen window for two seasons. Each year it has gotten larger. The first year it was covered during winter to prevent freezing. The second year I did not cover it from the cold. It came back from the ground and grew bigger than before. My take is you must care for it thru at least one winter. Then it is established.

@Robert Forsythe where are you located? If you're covering, I assume you're reasonably north.