Grow Your Own Passionfruit ~ My 5 Best Tips
In all honesty, our passionfruit vine is one of the most low maintenance plants in our yard. This is mostly due to the fact that our climate is extremely suitable to growing passionfruit—and so much of gardening is about climate. Passionfruit vines thrive in warm, tropical climates (mainly garden zones 9-11). If you are interested in growing passion fruit yourself, Fall and early Spring are good times to purchase a vine and get started.
PS: if you need to know your gardening zone, you can easily look it up HERE.
About Passionfruit Vine
Passionvines need a warm climate and are best suited to zones 9-11. It is not a very frost tolerant vine, but our Winters occasionally get down to about 32 degrees F and our established vine has no issues. Their vigorous (borderline invasive) growth habit makes passionvine the perfect evergreen for growing as a privacy screen or for quickly covering an arbor. I’m growing in Zone 10b, so we get almost zero frosty days.
There are many different types of passion vines that boast stunning passion flowers, but only some specific types produce edible fruit! If you are looking to grow passion vine in order to enjoy the delicious fruit, I highly recommend Passiflora Edulis ‘Frederick’—which is the only variety we grow currently. There are some varieties of passionfruit that are known to handle colder climates, but since I don’t have experience with those, I can’t speak for their fruit or their care. I’d ask at a local nursery or find a local gardener to see what they recommend.
This is our ‘frederick’ passionvine fence. We had no idea these vines would grow so quickly, so our goal for the next year is to create a new structure to support them because this fence will need to be replaced at some point.
While it is possible to grow your own passionfruit from seed, I highly recommend you buy a seedling or plant from a nursery. Truthfully, one vine will supply you with more passionfruit than you’ll need, and the chances are good for fruit the first year if you buy a plant in a 5, 10, or 15 gallon pot. Additionally, if you happen to have a fellow gardener or friend who grows passion fruit, you can also propagate passionfruit vine cuttings to create new plants! Get my full propagation tutorial HERE!
My Best Tips & Practices
1〉 Choose the right variety
A little bit of research goes a long way here. First, some passionfruit vines produce fruit that is NOT edible. If you are planning to grow passionfruit to collect and eat the fruit, be sure you purchase a variety that specifically states it is edible. Visiting a local nursery is a great way to see what grows in the area and you can read the tag descriptions as well.
Second, if you truly want a vine that will be low-maintenance and stay healthy, select the right variety for your climate. The variety we grow, Passiflora Edulis ‘Frederick’ is excellent for warm climates like 10b. Thankfully, it is also known as one of the best tasting passionfruits!
Make sure to read How to Eat Passion Fruit: Processing, Juicing, Storing & Using Fresh Passion Fruit
This is a passionfruit flower (for the Frederick variety). Aren’t they gorgeous? These flowers get pollinated and start to form little passionfruits. We don’t need to hand pollinate because we have never had an issue with fruit formation.
2〉 Choose the right location
Passionfruit vines need support. Trust me. Our little plants started at 1 foot tall and quickly grew over ten feet long in one season…and are now between 20-30 feet long. The vines are vigorous with insanely large root systems. Plan for a location near a sturdy trellis and preferably with room for the root system to expand in the ground. You can grow passionfruit in a pot (we have one!) but it probably won’t be as productive as one in the ground. If you do that, choose the largest pot you can.
Our passionvine is planted on a West facing wall so it gets sun for the majority of the day. The vines definitely thrive in full sun, especially once established. Another advantage of it being along a wall is wind protection. Young passion vines can be blown over or damaged in the wind. Provide a sturdy trellis and plan for wind issues if you live in areas susceptible to high winds.
You might also want to consider the fact that passion fruit drops to the ground when ripe. This could be a problem if you let it sprawl over a fence between you and a neighbor. Your vine could end up taking over their side of the fence and then dropping fruit all over their backyard (some neighbors might love this….others might not). We prefer to provide our own trellis for the passionvine so it does not bother others AND won’t damage a fence. In case you are wondering, I purposely included that note from personal experience 😉
Related Article: Things to Consider When Buying a Fruit Tree
Passion fruit have orange, pulpy insides with little, crunchy seeds. Ours fall off the vine when ripe and purple. They also slightly wrinkle as they ripen.
3〉 Good drainage
I’ve got a little story for this tip! When we first purchased our baby passionvines (from a local nursery), I had put two in the ground and one in a pot. One day I noticed that my passionvine in the pot was turning yellow, drooping, and losing its leaves. I panicked. As someone who gardens a lot, the damage really looked like overwatering, but I knew I had not been watering that much. Later that day I looked under the pot and the passionvine root had grown into the drainage hole—-it was completely clogged! So, my problem wasn’t overwatering, it was that the plant had no drainage and was becoming waterlogged. Lesson: make sure your pot has drainage holes and take note that passionvines like well-draining soil. Apparently, passionvines are also susceptible to root rot and nematodes, so clay-like soil that doesn’t drain well would not be a great place for them.
*A note on watering: being a tropical plant, passionfruit does need good & consistent watering to be happy. That being said, once established, the plant doesn’t need as much water. It shades its own base really well, so you’ll see that the ground retains more moisture. Dead leaves you remove from the plant can be dropped around the base as a mulch as well.
For all our landscape fruit trees, we have mainline polytubing irrigation with individual emitters that we select based on the type of tree. Read all about Water & Irrigation Basics ~ Insights from Our Garden for more details. As the passionvione becomes more established, you can change emitters to allow less water to flow.
Here is some of our passionfruit growing at different stages. The more established they get, the less often you’ll need to water them.
4〉 Side dress with compost & fertilize
Despite being relatively low maintenance, passion vine does like nutrient rich soil. Anything high in nitrogen will promote mostly just green, leafy growth, so I opt for compost to provide some balanced nutrition. Once or twice a year (usually Spring and late Summer) I put some of our homemade compost around the base of the plants. They love it! I also mulch around the base afterwards using any dead leaves shed from the vine. Mulching helps to protect the root system.
We rarely fertilize our passion vine, but for all our fruit trees we use Kellogg’s Organic Fruit Tree Fertilizer about once or twice a year.
If you would like some interesting tidbits on compost, mulch, and details on how we like to amend our soil, check out Amending Your Soil Organically Between Seasons and Let’s Talk Mulch! Mulching a Backyard Garden. I also have a full Compost 101 section so you can learn to make your own compost and build your soil!
Dried or dead leaves made a great mulch around the base of passion vines. Eventually the plant gets so big it shades itself at the base.
5〉 Trimming & pruning for health
Passionvines are really hard to kill. Our Frederick fruit typically ripens in late Summer/early Fall. We usually do a very aggressive pruning in Spring as it is warm and the plant starts to grow again . We simply trim it down to a size that we can reach/train while getting rid of any dead growth on the inside. Sometimes, on the inside near the trellis or wall, dead leaves and branches will accumulate and you want pull them out to allow for airflow. It’s not a very scientific process, but we try and not cut any thick, main branches. The main concern each year is simply controlling how crazy the vines get!
You’ll notice that the main trunk will start to get thicker and more woody every year. Passion vines won’t last forever. Eventually the trunks get older and more wood-like and will fruit less. The lifespan of passion vines can range anywhere from 5-10 years, depending on variety and conditions. If you suspect your vine might be slowing down, I highly recommend taking some cuttings to propagate new vines! Make sure to check out my tutorial on how to propagate passion fruit vines from cuttings.
Curious when to pick your passionfruit? Don’t forget to read about How to Eat and Store Passion Fruit and make my favorite Passion Fruit Agua Fresca recipe!
Final Note
Adding fruit trees to your landscape is an excellent long term investment. Not only is tasty, organic fruit expensive, but having established fruit trees will add to your property value. Check out my Things to Consider Before Buying a Fruit Tree for some tips on getting started. Enjoy your edible landscape adventure!
Meet Randi
Is it possible to grow passion fruits on old grape vines? Thank you! We are looking into a purchase of this grove in Escondido, California.
Hi Amy! I find that passion vines grow on most anything, but I am curious about the situation. Are the old grape vines dead? Is there a reason you wouldn’t remove them first?
Thanks this is helpful! I have 4 passion vines that have been doing really well – I have around 140 fruits currently but all of a sudden they have all stopped making new buds. I have vigorous green growth looking like they’ve had too much nitrogen…..only I haven’t fertilized them! (Only early spring). Have you seen this before? Any ideas?
Hello! It sounds to me like your vines are putting all their energy into producing and ripening the fruit at the moment. It’s good news to see new growth, but our vines typically have “waves” or cycles of fruit. I’d see what happens after they have finished ripening that huge amount of fruit. Congrats! Sounds like you have a great harvest coming up!
Does passion fruit vine have sucker or runner? I don’t the baby plants popup in neighbor yard. Some Australian websites say passion fruit vines have runners or suckers
I have a volunteer passion vine that produces oval green pods that turn into yellow seed pods but no edible fruit. The flower is very similar to the fruiting flower. Could this just be a nonfruiting type? We are in zone 10a. The vine is doing well but it would be lovely to have fruit.
Hi! You could be right! There are so many varieties of passion vine (genus passiflora) out there, and what your describing doesn’t sound like any one I’m familiar with (and most passion flowers all have a similar look). I’d document it in photos and try to ID it for fun! From your comment, it sounds like you want to start growing an edible one, so I’d specifically seek out one from your local nursery. As I mention, passiflora edulis ‘frederick’ is a great one.
Does passion fruit vine have sucker or runner? I don’t want the baby plants popup in neighbor yard. Some Australian websites say passion fruit vines have runners or suckers
Thank you for your comment and question, as it taught me something new! Our Frederick passion vine does not send out runners or suckers, but they grow insanely fast and overtake a 15ft fence in a year or two. We have never had issues with runners or suckers. I decided I was more curious, and did some searching. I found an Australian article that talked about grafted passionfruit vines and how they should be avoided. Apparently, the common rootstock used for these grafted vines can be invasive and send out so many suckers/runners that it can eventually overtake the grafted passionvine! Here in Southern California I have never actually seen a grafted passionvine being sold and so I had never heard of this before. Really interesting! Thanks for commenting!
I live in SoCal (Northern San Diego County) and was wondering if you had recommendations as to where I might be able to purchase a Frederick passion fruit plant?
Hello! Well, I’m a couple hours North of you (so I am not familiar with your local non-chain nurseries), but I know I’ve seen them at most of the stores nowadays- Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Armstrongs nurseries. Thankfully Frederick is becoming more and more popular so I don’t think you’ll have a problem finding one. Good luck!
VERY happy that a friend introduced me to passion fruit. I had to look them up on the Internet and then watched 2 YouTube videos about them – to figure out how to eat the fruit. The inside looks awful – however, the taste is absolutely outstanding – and I have been hooked since then.
One of the Sprouts stores near me has them – they sell out fast so I buy a few when available. Whether the skin is smooth or wrinkled, the fruit inside is awesome.
An hour ago, I mixed in the gelatenous innards with Greek yoghurt – Wow! Then opened and ate another passion fruit by itself. Oh my. At my age, I’m not going to grow a garden – but am willing to wait for handouts and to purchase that fruit even at $2 a piece or the bargain price of 2 for $4. 😉
Woohoo! I’m so glad you’ve gotten to enjoy fresh passionfruit. There is truly nothing like it!
I live in Northern California. I purchased a vine (about 4 feet tall) and planted it in spring. It’s really taken off and I have at least 10 fruit and still more flowers! It’s October here now and cooling, and we have had a little rain (yay), but what should I expect of my green fruit? Will they survive the winter? Or will this be a starter crop for the new vine – resulting in better yield next year? How long will they take to ripen on the vine (I read 80 days) and can the fruit survive the cold? Thanks!
Hi! I don’t know what will happen to the green fruit for sure (and ripening time is variable especially in cooler temps), but there’s no reason to not leave the fruit on the vine and see what happens. In my experience, cold temperatures don’t ripen fruit well….and even if it turns purple and falls off the vine, the flavor is not as good or sweet if it’s cold. That’s okay though! Next year you’ll probably get way more fruit and growth. Cheers!
Thanks for this. I am in LA and I was wondering about the winter watering requirements for passionfruit. I moved into a new house in the early fall with a newly planted, but fairly established vine (about 10-15 feet with several fruit). So far this winter it has been misty quite often and I have continued watering twice a week. The larger leaves are turning yellow and the plant is looking pretty sad and droopy which makes me think I am overwatering it. It is planted in a mix of nitrogen rich soil on top and sandy, quick draining soil underneath. I My friends planted it here so I am trying not to kill it! Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you!
Hi! I think you’re right….you are probably overwatering! To help, I’d stop watering and mulch around the base. I’ve got an article on mulch if you need some organic ideas. In Winter it doesn’t need much water at all (twice a week is quite a bit). Try to aim for a deep watering less often, instead of more frequent shallow watering. How much to water would depend on the type of soil, so only you can really judge that. The best way is to just observe how long the soil stays moist and only water when it seems dry. Hopefully you’ll see the plant start to recover! Good luck!
Hi! I am in LA and I planted a 3’ Frederick in the middle of my garden this spring and it has really taken off with vines branching onto neighboring plants and a few fruits. I think I need to install some kind of support system/trellis but there isn’t a lot of space around the tree. What do you suggest I do?
Hi Cindy! Whew, yeah these vines grow massive. There are a few things I’d do. First, I’d propagate some pieces to make sure you have a backup. I have a full blogpost on how to propagate passion vine because I’ve done this before too. Second, I’d find an area where you can really create a big, sturdy trellis for your passionfruit and move it there—make sure you have your backup plants first though in case it dies. Transplanting might be better as it’s coming out of dormancy next year, so for now try and keep it wrangled! I know that can be difficult. haha.
i live in central florida, zone 10 i believe. for weeks we found many, many fruit on our property. we just threw them over the fence, thinking kids were throwing them. we did not know what they were. eventually we looked up at our 30 foot oak tree and saw the fruit. we now love the fruit. we since moved to a condo and have a 20 foot oak tree in our private yard. should we try to plant one at the base of the tree. if so, should we cut it back every year or let it grow to top of tree like wild one did. we have no fence etc. tree is only option.
Hello! Well, it sounds like you have more experience than I do with growing passionvine up trees. Especially being in Florida, you’ve got a great climate for them. To me it seems like a question of personal preference, but if you do plant one I wouldn’t cut it all the way to the ground every year, but you can prune it as desired to control size. I typically prune mine after Winter, as soon as it starts to wake up for Spring. Pruning usually encourages tender growth, which is frost sensitive. It sounds like an interesting garden experiment!