My wife has a Passion Flower climber which 2 years ago she religiously
dead-headed as soon as the flower died off. Last year she did not
dead-head at all with the result that she did get a few fruits but the
number of flowers she received decreased significantly.
Does she just have a straight choice of flowers in abundance or fruit? Or
is there some other factor in play here?
My thanks for any assistance given.
Dave & Karen Moore

"Dave Moore" wrote in message
...
My wife has a Passion Flower climber which 2 years ago she religiously
dead-headed as soon as the flower died off. Last year she did not
dead-head at all with the result that she did get a few fruits but the
number of flowers she received decreased significantly.
Does she just have a straight choice of flowers in abundance or fruit?
Or
is there some other factor in play here?
My thanks for any assistance given.
Dave & Karen Moore
-----------------------------------
There is always this option. Take into account that the only
purpose of life is to reproduce and when this has been achieved, by
producing fruits/seeds, then the incentive to flower is lost. Dead heading
is always beneficial. Even fruit trees become biennial fruiting if permitted
to have excessive crops. Some apples are renowned for this.
Regards Brian.

Brian wrote:
"Dave Moore" wrote in message
...

My wife has a Passion Flower climber which 2 years ago she religiously
dead-headed as soon as the flower died off. Last year she did not
dead-head at all with the result that she did get a few fruits but the
number of flowers she received decreased significantly.
Does she just have a straight choice of flowers in abundance or fruit?

Or

is there some other factor in play here?
My thanks for any assistance given.
Dave & Karen Moore

-----------------------------------
There is always this option. Take into account that the only
purpose of life is to reproduce and when this has been achieved, by
producing fruits/seeds, then the incentive to flower is lost. Dead heading
is always beneficial. Even fruit trees become biennial fruiting if permitted
to have excessive crops. Some apples are renowned for this.
Regards Brian.


If you encourage growth of the foliage early in the season by giving
them plenty of water then they will almost certainly produce many
flowers later in the season,......at least that's my experience.

They flower on this seasons growth so if you have nice long tendrils
you'll get more flowers.

I don't feed the plant (tomato feed is good) until later in the season
(mid-end july) at which point you get lots of flowers over august, just
plenty of water!

Jason

--
Check out my ebay auctions for Passifora caerulea and edulis seeds and
Morning Glory (Star of Yelta) seeds.
http://cgi6.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....sort=3&rows=50

Brian wrote:

-----------------------------------
There is always this option. Take into account that the only
purpose of life is to reproduce and when this has been achieved, by
producing fruits/seeds, then the incentive to flower is lost. Dead heading
is always beneficial. Even fruit trees become biennial fruiting if permitted
to have excessive crops. Some apples are renowned for this.
Regards Brian.


My Passiflora caerulea has cropped excessively EVERY year bar the first
one where it was establishing it's roots system.

The best thing to do is cut it back hard in late autumn after it's
finished flowering/fruiting that way the nutrients go back to the roots
then the following year give it plenty of water to encourage foliage
growth, as it gets into the warmer weather give it some tomato feed and
the flowers and fruit will come (fruit needs a little warm weather as
well), always does the trick for mine.

Mine is fruiting again this year and it has many blooms!
(here's a link to a picture of my main P.caerulea on a north facing wall:
hxxp://freespace.virgin.net/serial1.killer/pass1.jpg
and the blooms on it:
hxxp://freespace.virgin.net/serial1.killer/pass2.jpg)

Cheers

Jason


--
Check out my ebay auctions for Passifora caerulea and edulis seeds and
Morning Glory (Star of Yelta) seeds.
http://cgi6.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....sort=3&rows=50

In article ,
Jason Pope wrote:

The best thing to do is cut it back hard in late autumn after it's
finished flowering/fruiting that way the nutrients go back to the roots

Er, no. The treatment is fine; the explanation isn't. Deciduous
and herbaceous plants have mechanisms to recover nutrients from
leaves and shoots; evergreen ones (especially tropical ones) don't,
or not much. And there is no way that nutrients can get back to
the roots from foliage that has been pruned off!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The message
from Jason Pope contains these words:


My Passiflora caerulea has cropped excessively EVERY year bar the first
one where it was establishing it's roots system.

The best thing to do is cut it back hard in late autumn after it's
finished flowering/fruiting that way the nutrients go back to the roots

What nutrients are you talking about, where are they before you cut
off the topgrowth, and how do they get back to the roots afterwards?

Janet.

In article ,
Jason Pope wrote:

The best thing to do is cut it back hard in late autumn after it's
finished flowering/fruiting that way the nutrients go back to the roots

Er, no. The treatment is fine; the explanation isn't. Deciduous
and herbaceous plants have mechanisms to recover nutrients from
leaves and shoots; evergreen ones (especially tropical ones) don't,
or not much. And there is no way that nutrients can get back to
the roots from foliage that has been pruned off!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.