You've entered territory that is very messy in a number of ways. There are a number of different Passifloras that are "edible" but not very good--caerulea is generally regarded as not terribly tasty, I *think* foetida may be considered a small step up. There's the question of which are self fertile and which are not--I think you'd have to quiz people for each plant to find that one out. And even within a species different forms can differ--actually I read that P. quadrangularis (giant granadilla) is one--the small form is self-fertile, the large one is not. And two different species are called P. mollissima...

Are you in zone 10b South Florida or coastal Southern California? I'm guessing South Florida based on what you are growing. Do people fruit P. mollissima there? (I really have no idea).

Anyway, If you are looking for P. incarnata, a Tacsonia (a mollissima hybrid at a minimum) and a P. edulis red/yellow hybrid, I know that you can find all three at Grassy Knoll Exotics. I would email or call Elizabeth Peters there. She incredibly nice and helpful and can tell you what's suited to your climate.

http://gkexoticplants.com/pages/contact_us.html

Oh, here's one list of edible species. There are of course also hybrids. Not all of the species on this list are self-fertile, and some taste better than others:

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/nexus/passiflora_spp_nex.html

I just tasted P. 'Mission Dolores' (parritae x antioquiensis) over the weekend. A spectacular plant that I only recently found out is self fertile. Very nice flavor. I believe Elizabeth can sell it to you (or I can give you a cutting for free if you are in California). That one would be not so good for South Florida but probably OK for coastal Southern California.

Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: Grassy Knoll Exotic Plants

im in south florida (hollywood)

that site is out of the edible varieties but still has a very nice flowering selection

Huh? I did a quick check and found the following edible ones available:

'Susan Brigham'
Actinia
Antioquiensis
P. edulis 'Frederick'
P. edulis (unspecified--I bought 'Nancy Garrison' under this category)
P. edulis flavicarpa
P. maliformis

Plus others I left out because I wasn't sure. Actually I think there are quite a number I left off that list.

I think the first 3 are unsuitable for Florida.

The waiting lists can be suprisingly short from what people tell me.

i already have named variety yellow and purple p. edulis, im not interested in other varieties of those, im sure there are endless hybrids.

im looking for P. Mollissima mostly, pendula flowers and banana shaped fruit.

it should do good down here right? i added it to the wishlist of that site

boom1,

'Panama Red' is a P. edulis hybrid.

As far as P. mollissima, I would be surprised if it would do OK there. I've actually asked and have yet to hear of anyone who has bloomed it in Florida. Perhaps someone will read your thread and speak up either way.

That's why you should ask Elizabeth Peters if there are any Tacsonias that will fruit in Florida. She sells several, and I know at least one of them is a mollissima hybrid ('Susan Brigham'--mollissima x mixta).

Actually, you have me curious--I'll start a thread asking whether anyone has bloomed a Tacsonia hybrid or species in the deep South.

There are other species that should fruit where you are, though, and you could always consider those.

P. laurifolia is supposed to have a tasty fruit. Mine hasn't bloomed yet and I'm not sure what varieties can be used for pollination.

There are a number of reasons why I'm skeptical of P. mollissima (= P. tarminiana or P. tripartita var. mollissima) succeeding in Florida. Just a couple--I've looked long and hard and have yet to find a single report of P. mollissima growing well in Florida. I have found many reports that it doesn't do well. I just now searched for a long time and again found nothing. However I did find negative reports. Here are two of them:

"Edible Passiflora Adapted to South Florida Growing Conditions"
http://www.fshs.org/Proceedings/Password%20Protected/1976%20Vol.%2089/236-238%20(HOWELL).pdf

"The Banana Passionfruits (P. mollissima (HBK) Bailey, P. mixta,L., P. antioquiensis Karst., and others) are considered to produce the finest juice and drinks of all the passionfruits. Unfortunately they have not done well here."

Morton, J. 1987. Banana Passionfruit. p. 332Â333. In: Fruits of warm climates. Julia F. Morton, Miami, FL.
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/banana_passion_fruit.html#Climate

"It has never succeeded in Florida; is grown to some extent in Hawaii and the State of Madras, India. The climate of New Zealand seems highly suitable for it and it has been grown there, more or less commercially, for several decades."

Also, in Hawaii it is incredibly invasive--in the higher altitudes. It is not invasive in the lower elevations.

In California, as far as I am aware it's restricted to regions at least fairly near the coast. As far as I'm aware where I live we're pretty borderline for growing it. The only Tacsonias I've seen in my area are my own and a friend's.

There are a number of other reasons.

However I would emphasize that I would love to hear if it were possible to grow it in Florida and I have been looking for that info. I grow Tacsonias and I'm always curious if they will do well if I send them to people in warm climates such as Florida.

Your picture is impressive, however I can't tell if it's mollissima--do you have a photo of a leaf and/or a flower for ID? If you know of anything online suggesting that anyone grows, blooms and fruits the plant successfully, I really want to know. As I say I've looked long and hard. I'd like to be pleasantly surprised.

I just did a search on Gardenweb and this popped up.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/passiflora/msg072309585154.html

Someone in the South asked whether there are any Tacsonias that might do well. It was suggested by "kiwinut" that 'Coral Glow' is possibly the only one, although it doesn't like it above 90. Myles Irvine says he did OK with P. tarminiana (the species most commonly called mollissima) through a "very hot spell". I think it's safe to say that a hot spell in England would be very cold for Florida.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/passiflora/msg072309585154.html

Darn no more Entertainment! Pretty much shut this thread down.