Those are probably Gulf Fritillary butterflies & caterpillars. I think the caterpillars are as pretty as the adults. I root most of my passies in water with bottom heat. The seeds are only produced in the fruit but some varieties will send out suckers that you can dig up and transplant.
Karyn

I love the little caterpillars too...I bring them inside and raise them up. They are really quite beautiful!

I had some good luck rooting cuttings by placing them in water out of direct sun, but outside (we are having 90 + days here so it keeps them pretty warm). I also rooted a few in potting soil, but it was very slow going.

I tried chena's way/mrs.batt's way with the oasis foam and it does great for passies. I just got 2 corkscrew (vigna caracalla) cuttings to root after I put them in the oasis. They had been sitting in plain water for 2 mos and nothing~ so put them in the oasis and they rooted in a week. I am finding other vines such as mandevillea like it too. Just make sure to change the water at least once per day and give indirect sun. Everyone has thier own way and you will find yours too. It is fun to experiment~ try a few different things and see what works.

Please explain to me about the oasis foam method.I have never heard of this but am interested in rooting my vines and corkscrew.I am new to this forum and am awed.I have a purple passion and red one.I have alot to learn here.lol
moonphase

Oaisis is the foam that florists use for fresh flower arrangements. You can pick it up at a craft store or a local florist will probably sell you a brick. You cut the brick into cubes and thoroughly saturate them in water. Keep them moist while plants are rooting. The roots will grow through the foam. You plant the whole cube with the plant in it. The foam will eventually break down in the soil. Make sure that you buy Oaisis and not Sahara, which is used for dried flower arrangements.
Karyn

That's a great idea, Karyn! I put florists' foam on my grocery list - they sell it at Walmart.
Molly, I love the caterpillars, too!
Here's a gulf fritillary caterpillar -
{{gwi:529128}}
MissSherry

Here is the origanal post~~~~~~
I put a pic up of a Lavender Lady cutting I took 13 days ago..I have had some that are stubborn.. But it has worked with several other vines as well..
Posted by msbatt 7 (My Page) on Wed, Apr 25, 07 at 13:13

I've had the most success in rooting passies using florists' foam ('wet' foam) as my rooting medium. Soak the foam for 10-15 minutes, then cut it into small cubes no more than an inch on a side and place them in a shallow tray with enough water to come half-way up the sides. Cut your passie cuttings into two-node cuttinggs, snipping about a quarter-inch below the bottom node. (Note---it's EXTREMELY important to be certain the 'bottom' node is actually the rootward end, and it's EASY to get confused with passies---always work from the tip down, just to be certain.) Carefully remove the bottom set of leaves, and I usually rreduce the size of the leaves on the top node, too. Dip the bottom end in just a touch of rooting powder, and insert them into the foam until the bottom node is just barely below the surface. Place the tray in bright but indirect light, and keep the foam moist at all tiimes. Once you see the roots coming through the foam, they're ready to pot up. As the roots grow, they'll break down the foam by themselves.

Here is a link that might be useful:

I am on my second batch of cuttings rooting this way. The first batch are about a foot long now and I ended up with about 20! They are under lights and taking over my plant shelf. What a mess they are to untangle and water every few days. I think this method works a little too well LOL!