I have a caerulea blue that is growing great. About 3 weeks ago I noticed a fruit on it. The fruit turned yellow and I picked it and opened it hoping to see seeds. What I found inside resembles the fruit from a pomegranete. They are red elongated "seeds". Is this the actual seed, and do they dry out? I really don't know what to do with them. Please help.

Thanks,
Barb

Here are a few pictures I just took for you that may help.

Fruit:

Seeds and pulp inside:

Seeds and pulp out:

Pulp pressed out and around the seed. They are pretty strong. You won't likely squish them.

Clean and dry seeds,(you may or may not have cat hair mixed in). Put them in a small holed strainer after you clean them all manually with your fingers. I know there may be some easier methods than using your fingers, but I prefer to do it the long way. Afterwords, though, make sure they are rinsed very well before drying. Small, discolored, or deformed seeds will likely not come up, so you can throw them away if you wish. Some people do a "float test" at this point, but I have seen many seeds some up that have failed the test, so I don't use that method.
Have fun!!

Thanks so much for the pictures. I definitely needed a step by step approach. I've cleaned the seeds, and am letting them dry. Do I have to wait to plant them, or can I plant them now. Any special potting soil? I'm going to cut my passie down in a few weeks and bring it in the house as I don't want to take a chance with our winters here. If I get new plants can I plant them outside after the last frost?
Sorry for all the questions, but this is the first passie I have had and I don't want to lose it.
Thanks again,
Barb

You can certainly sow them right now. Actually, I have experimented with many different methods, and sometimes we don't even clean the pulp off of the seeds, and they still usually come up, they just take longer. I assume the pulp has to disintegrate naturally in the planting medium to let the moisture into the seed from watering. But, if you were planning on saving some seeds for later, or trading them away, you would definitely want to clean them.

As far as planting medium goes, I would suggest that you experiment. I usually use Jiffy peat pellets, but sometimes try out regular potting soil with extra perlite added. I think you should try 2 or 3 different ways, and find out what works best for you. Depending on how moist you keep them, what temperatures, et cetera, you may have better luck with one method over others. Just don't let them freeze.

I like to use some bottom heat most of the time, though I don't think it is necessary. I just think it speeds things up a bit. A waterproof heating pad set on low does the trick.

A couple of things to keep in mind: Passiflora seesd can take a very long time to germinate. I had one come up in just 5 days this year, (a record for me), but still had some of last year's seeds coming up this summer, about 9 months later. Don't give up on them if they don't sprout like tomato seeds.

Also, the plant you are bringing indoors: be sure to water it very sparingly. I hate trying to grow indoors because it is so hard to keep the watering just right. Being a P. caerulea, it can withstand more abuse than many other Passies, so I would probably suggest not watering it until you see signs that it is dry, such as the larger leaves starting to wilt slightly. Overwatering it could be detrimental. Hopefully, someone else will chime in here who has more experience with overwintering indoors, and give you more first-hand tips.

Good luck and happy gardening!

Eric Wortman

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I now feel I at least have a chance of keeping the passie I have through the winter, and hopefully growing one or two more. Do you know of a passie that can withstand the winter in zone 6, western N.Y.

Thanks again for sharing your information.

Barb

If you do have other Passifloras, and you want fruit, you can certainly pollinate it by hand, though as you may have read, not everything will cross successfully. Realize that the fruit of P. caerulea is not really very pleasant tasting. I hope that you are doing it for the seeds.

Have fun,
Eric