Jeff Layman writes:

On 11/04/2013 20:32, Dan Espen wrote:
Jeff Layman writes:

On 10/04/2013 13:21, orangejayd wrote:

Hi

I'm going to be buying a Passion vine and need to know which type to go
for that would survive cold weather.

It'll be kept in the wheelhouse of a boat which is un-insulated, so it
will be protected from the wind but the tempreture will be pretty much
the same as outdoors, which is pretty chilly most of the time. I'm
guessing during Summer it'd have almost a greenhouse affect for the
plant, if we manage to have any Summer that is.

Anyone know of any good types of vines that are pretty hardcore through
cold weather but still have the colourful scented flowers too?

Thanks in advance!

The only passion flower with a degree of frost resistance in the UK is
Passiflora caerulea (Blue Passion Flower). Some of its hybrids show a
similar degree of frost resistance.

But all top growth will be cut back to ground level in a severe
frost. Usually, in milder parts, growth will restart in spring, as the
parts of the plant below ground are protected to some extent from
being frozen. And P. caerulea roots can go fairly deep and spread
widely. However, in your case the roots would also freeze as they
would be in a pot, and the plant would die.

If you have a frost-free place (kitchen window?) you could take some
cuttings, as Passiflora roots easily. New plants can be grown quickly
once the weather warms up (if it warms up...) to replace any that have
died.

But have you considered just how fast Passiflora grows once it gets
going? You'll need a machete to get onto your boat after couple of
weeks. :-)

I don't think it's that bad.
I'm in Central NJ.

Would that be zone 6b? In the UK just about the coldest zone
(Scottish mountains) is equivalent to 7a - most are around 8a/b.

6A.

We had a Passion Flower vine in a basket near the pool.
The first season some of the vines grew to about 8 feet
but at no point did it cover the fence it was on, these
were just 2 or 3 shoots.

We bought the basket inside for the winter and hung it
in the window. It struggled though the first winter and
repeated it's performance the next year.

Oh, I should mentioned, it flowered nicely both years.

The second year inside killed it, I don't think I watered it
enough.

Right now I'm trying a different vine. It's made it though
the winter and I'm hoping we'll see flowers.

Anyway, I believe you need to protect these vines from cold
temperature, they're not that easy to overwinter, and they
probably won't take over unless you have a greenhouse or something.

What Passion Flower were you growing? If it was Passiflora incarnata
(Maypops), the odd thing is that is pretty hardy over in the USA, but
it is basically never seen here in the UK outside a greenhouse. It
just doesn't like our winters - too warm and damp maybe? Passiflora
caerulea, on the other hand, although supposedly less hardy than
P. incarnata, survives most winters here. In the warmer areas of the
south and west, it can be a rampant vine. Once established, and given
support, it can cover the walls of a house quite easily. But I don't
think that it is particularly long-lived, even in good conditions - if
you get 10 years from it you've done very well.

Not sure what it was. Here's a pictu

http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...0/12671080.jpg


--
Dan Espen