6 pack x 60 Passionflower Seeds (Passiflora), Chanh Day / Lac Tien Passion Vine, an Exotic Tropical-Looking Climbing Vine with Intricate Flowers for Trellises, Fences and Pollinator Gardens, Warm-Climate Seeds for Planting

Passionflower Seeds grow Passiflora, the fast-growing, tropical-looking climbing vines famous for their intricate, almost alien flowers. Sold here under the Vietnamese names chanh day and lac tien, this is a seed packet for an ornamental climbing-vine project, not a live plant, a dried herb, a tea, or any consumable product.

Product Details

Passionflowers are grown above all for their extraordinary blooms and lush, tropical foliage. The flowers are elaborate, often purple, blue, and white, with a distinctive fringed crown, and they are a strong draw for bees and butterflies, while the vigorous vines quickly clothe a trellis, fence, arch, or arbor in greenery. That makes them a favourite with gardeners who want fast vertical cover, an exotic focal point, or a pollinator-friendly climber, in a warm garden, a conservatory, or a greenhouse.

One thing to be clear about is identity and fruit, because Passiflora is a huge genus of hundreds of species and the exact one here is not confirmed. Only some kinds, notably the passion fruit Passiflora edulis, produce the sweet-tart edible fruit people know, while many ornamental passionflowers flower beautifully but do not set worthwhile fruit. So treat these as flowering-vine seeds first: you may get edible fruit in a warm climate if the plant is an edible type, but that is a bonus, not a promise, and buyers specifically wanting passion fruit should look for confirmed edible varieties.

As a plant it is warm-loving and tender. It thrives in full sun to part shade in fertile, well-drained soil, climbs by tendrils so it needs a strong support to scramble up, and can put on a lot of length in a season. In cooler regions it is grown as a warm-season plant, a container plant that can be moved, or under glass, since it will not take frost.

Growing it from seed takes patience, because passionflower seed has a hard coat and germinates slowly and unevenly. Growers usually scarify the seed, by nicking or lightly sanding it, and soak it for a day before sowing shallowly in warm, moist conditions, and germination can then still take several weeks.

It is a poor fit for a few situations. It is a frost-tender climber, not a cold-hardy or compact plant, not a quick or certain-fruit crop, and it is grown here for flowers and greenery. Gardeners in cold regions without cover, or anyone needing a small plant or certain fruit, should choose accordingly.

Getting the seed up is the first test of patience. Fresh seed, ideally squeezed straight from a ripe fruit and rinsed clean of its jelly-like coating, germinates far better than old, dry seed; growers then lightly scarify the hard coat with fine sandpaper and soak the seed for a day or two before sowing it about a quarter-inch to an inch deep in a warm, moist mix. Held steadily warm, somewhere around 70 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit, it still comes up slowly and unevenly, often over two to eight weeks and sometimes longer, so sowing several and waiting it out is the norm.

Once away, it grows with real vigour. Passionflower climbs by curling tendrils and can put on a great deal of length in a single warm season, so it needs a genuinely sturdy trellis, arch, pergola, or wire fence to scramble over rather than anything flimsy. In a warm enough spot a seed-grown vine can even flower, and sometimes fruit, within its first year, though that timing varies a lot with conditions.

Among the edible passion fruits there are two broad camps worth knowing. Purple types tend to be a little more cold-tolerant and are the ones usually preferred for fresh eating, and many of them are self-fertile; yellow types are more vigorous and heat-loving, are the mainstay of commercial juice, and generally need a second, compatible vine nearby for cross-pollination. Either way, a hand with pollination often lifts the amount of fruit that sets.

The two Vietnamese names on this packet point in slightly different directions, which is part of why fruit cannot be promised. Chanh day is the familiar edible passion fruit, while lac tien is more often the wild, smaller-fruited passionflower grown for its foliage and flowers than for a crop. Since the exact plant is not confirmed, the safe approach is to grow it for its vine and flowers and welcome any good fruit as a bonus.

If fruit is the goal, pollination is worth understanding. Passionflowers are pollinated mainly by large bees, and in the muggy warmth they like, the flowers are only receptive for part of the day. Where bees are scarce, or under glass, gardeners hand-pollinate around midday by brushing the ripe, dusty pollen from the anthers onto the three curved stigmas of a freshly open flower, which noticeably improves the odds of a fruit forming.

On conditions it is firmly a warm-climate plant. It wants full sun to light shade and fertile, free-draining ground, ideally a slightly acidic to neutral sandy loam, and steady moisture through the growing season; it will not tolerate frost, so in cool regions it is grown as a summer plant, in a large container that can be brought in, or under glass over winter.

Where an edible type does fruit, the reward is that intense, aromatic, sweet-tart pulp. Scooped straight from the halved fruit, seeds and all, it flavours juices, cordials, and cocktails, spoons over yoghurt, cream, and desserts, and cooks down into vivid curds and preserves; a little goes a long way, which is much of its appeal.

Finally, keep expectations realistic about seed. Passion fruit grown from seed is naturally variable and does not reliably reproduce a named parent, so exactly what you get, in vigour, flower, and any fruit, will differ from plant to plant. That makes this a project for adventurous, patient warm-climate gardeners who love an exotic flowering vine first, and count fruit as a happy possibility rather than a sure thing.

Handle it as an ornamental, warm-climate vine project rather than a fixed result, since germination, flowering, and any fruit depend on the species, climate, support, pollination, and care. Keep unused seed cool, dry, and sealed, and follow the packet directions for scarifying, soaking, and sowing.

Product Highlights

• Passionflower Seeds grow Passiflora, the fast-growing, tropical-looking climbing vines famous for their intricate, almost alien flowers, sold here under the Vietnamese names chanh day and lac tien for an ornamental vine project.
• Grown above all for their extraordinary purple, blue, and white blooms and lush foliage, they draw bees and butterflies and quickly clothe a trellis, fence, arch, or arbor, so they suit gardeners wanting fast, exotic vertical cover or a focal point.
• Be clear on fruit: Passiflora is a huge genus and the exact species here is not confirmed, so treat these as flowering-vine seeds first, with edible passion fruit only a possible bonus in a warm climate if the plant happens to be an edible type.
• It is a warm-loving, frost-tender climber that wants full sun to part shade, fertile well-drained soil, and a strong support to climb by its tendrils; in cool regions grow it as a movable container plant or under glass, since it will not take frost.
• Growing from seed takes patience, since the hard-coated seed is usually scarified and soaked and still germinates slowly over several weeks; it is not a cold-hardy, compact, quick, or certain-fruit crop, so store any spare seed cool, dry, and sealed.

Search Terms

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