Passiflora caerulea

Growing in Pots, Balconies & Indoors

Blue passionflower is a vigorous climber that can run to many metres – not a houseplant, but it can be kept in a large container on a sunny patio or balcony if given a strong trellis and hard pruning.

Quick Details

• Container Size: A large, heavy pot with a sturdy trellis
• Indoor Suitability: Not a houseplant – too vigorous and sun-hungry
• Best Spot: Full sun, outdoors
• Soil & Drainage: Fertile, free-draining mix
• Watering in Pots: Average to generous in growth; let excess drain

Indoors & On the Windowsill

• Not a houseplant: It needs full sun and grows far too large and fast for a room.

On a Balcony or Patio

• Container growing: Use a big, stable pot and a strong trellis or wires; it climbs vigorously and needs regular pruning to stay in bounds.
• Light & heat: Walls, railings and paving reflect heat and wind dries pots fast, so check moisture often and water more in hot spells.

Choosing the Pot, Soil & Long-Term Care

• Pot & drainage: A large pot with strong drainage holes; do not leave it standing in water.
• Potting mix: Fertile and free-draining – a good potting mix with added grit for drainage.
• Feeding: Container plants use up food faster because watering washes nutrients out – feed a little and often through the growing season.
• Long term: Prune hard each year to control its size and refresh part of the soil.

Bloom & Flower Guide

Quick Details

• Bloom Season: All year in mild climates (spring in cold areas)
• Flower Appearance: Intricate ‘clock-face’ flowers — white petals with a purple-and-white filament crown around the central column
• Edibility: Ornamental — grown for the striking flowers; the plant’s foliage and unripe parts contain cyanogenic compounds, so the flowers are not eaten

Detailed Blooming Overview

The blue passionflower produces one of the most extraordinary blooms in the garden — a flat, clock-like flower of white petals topped by a fringed crown of fine purple-and-white filaments, with the reproductive column standing at the centre. On this vigorous vine the flowers open in succession, nearly year-round in mild climates, and are worked mainly by large bees.

Flower Characteristics

• White flowers with a purple-and-white filament crown (corona).
• Distinctive clock-face form with a prominent central column.
• Borne singly along a vigorous climbing vine.

Bloom Care & Thinning

• Keep it flowering: Prune the vigorous vine in late winter so it flowers freely on new growth.
• Pollination: The flowers are pollinated mainly by bees.