How to Grow Passion Fruit From a Seed or Seedling

Passion fruit is the tough-skinned edible fruit that grows from passiflora vine, which also produces passion flowers. The passiflora vine is a fruiting and flowering tropical plant that is native to southern Brazil and is now grown in many tropical locations in South America. The passiflora plant thrives in warm climates, and the best time to plant it is in the spring after the first frost has passed.

There are two main passiflora cultivars that bear two kinds of passion fruit: Passiflora edulis produces the deep purple passion fruit with prune-like rind and a seed-filled golden center, while Passiflora flavicarpa produces a yellow passion fruit that is typically larger than the purple variety. You can grow passion fruit at home with the seeds found inside of a passion fruit, or from a seedling that you can purchase at a nursery.

Passion fruit can be grown either from the seeds inside of ripe passion fruit or from a seedling purchased at a gardening store or nursery. You can also propagate new passion fruit plants from cuttings.

The growing season for passion fruit begins in the early spring, just after the last frost has passed. Passiflora is a tropical plant native to hot and humid climates that will continue to bear fruit year-round if you live in a climate that is always warm. If you live in a climate where winter temperatures drop below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, winterize your plant for the colder months by spreading a couple of inches of compost over it.

You can use the seeds from a store-bought passionfruit to germinate and plant your own passionfruit vine. Here is how to sow passion fruit from a seed.

1. 1. Choose your seeds. Choose a ripe passion fruit with a slightly crinkled rind from the grocery store, halve it, and extract its seeds. The riper your passion fruit, the more likely the seeds are to germinate. Wash any fruit pulp from your seed and dry them with a paper towel.
2. 2. Prepare your seeds. To improve the chances that your seeds will sprout, rub them between a sheet of sandpaper and soak over night for 12 hours. If you’re not planting your seeds immediately, store them in a sealed envelope or airtight container.
3. 3. Germinate your seeds. To start the germination process, bury your seed in a container filled with a small amount of soil or seed-raising mix about an inch deep. Sow your seed just below the surface and water it to keep the soil moist. You can also use seaweed solution to get help your seeds sprout more quickly
4. 4. Water your seeds. Water your seed regularly to keep the soil moist, but do not saturate it. Keep your container in a warm place to facilitate moisture.
5. 5. Wait until the seed sprouts. Regularly water your seed until it sprouts. Some seeds germinate within two to three weeks, and some as long as four. Other seeds will take up to four months to sprout, so be patient.
6. 6. Re-pot your seedling. When your seedling is roughly 4 inches high, re-pot your plant in a larger pot, around 6-8 inches in diameter. Gently dig the seedling free, taking care to protect the root system, and place in a fresh potting mix in the larger pot, watering immediately. Provide your plant with a climbing support so its vines can begin to grow. After roughly six weeks, your passionfruit plant should have a good central vine—about eight inches in height—and will be ready to plant in the garden against a trellis.
7. 7. Prepare your soil. Choose a place in your garden that gets plenty of sun to plant your sprouted seedling. Enrich your soil by combining it with fertilizer or mulch, and test the pH to make sure that it is between 6.5 and 7.5. Loosen the soil to make sure that it is draining properly.
8. 8. Plant your vine. Dig a large hole in your garden that is roughly twice the size of the plant’s root ball. Remove the vine from its original container, taking care to protect the root system. Bury the roots with fresh potting mix and fertilizer and water immediately. If you’re planting multiple plants, give them at least 10–12 feet of space between each plant.
9. 9. Care for your plant. Your passion fruit plant can take 18 months to 2 years to fruit and flower, and your plant will require regular maintenance. Water your plant regularly, taking care to keep the soil loose and well-draining to prevent root rot. Prune any tendrils that are wilting. To winterize your plant if you live in a cold winter climate, spread a layer of compost two inches thick over your plant's root system to protect it from the cold during the winter months.
10. 10. Harvest your fruit. Once your passionfruit vine begins to flower and fruit, leave the fruit to fully ripen so that the color becomes vibrant and the rind starts to wrinkle. At that point, you can either pick the fruit or let it fall to the ground. It is now ready to eat.

If you don’t want to plant your passion fruit from seeds, you can buy an already-germinated passion fruit vine from the nursery. Here is an overview of how to plant a passion fruit vine from a seedling.

1. 1. Purchase your passion fruit vine. Buy your passion fruit vine from the nursery. You can also plant a cutting from one of your existing passion fruit plants to propagate a new plant. Water it regularly.
2. 2. Re-pot your seedling. When your seedling is roughly 4 inches high, re-pot your plant in a larger pot, around 6-8 inches in diameter. Gently dig the seedling free, taking care to protect the root system, and place in a fresh potting mix in the larger pot, watering immediately. Provide your plant with a climbing support so its vines can begin to grow. After roughly six weeks, your passionfruit plant should have a good central vine—about eight inches in height—and will be ready to plant in the garden against a trellis.
3. 3. Prepare your soil. Choose a place in your garden that gets plenty of sun to plant your sprouted seedling. Enrich your soil by combining it with fertilizer or mulch, and test the pH to make sure that it is between 6.5 and 7.5. Loosen the soil to make sure that it is draining properly.
4. 4. Plant your vine. Dig a large hole in your garden that is roughly twice the size of the plant’s root ball. Remove the vine from its original container, taking care to protect the root system. Bury the roots with fresh potting mix and fertilizer and water immediately. If you’re planting multiple plants, give them at least 10–12 feet of space between each plant.
5. 5. Care for your plant. Your passion fruit plant can take 18 months to 2 years to fruit and flower, and your plant will require regular maintenance. Water your plant regularly, taking care to keep the soil loose and well-draining to prevent root rot. Prune any tendrils that are wilting. To winterize your plant if you live in a cold winter climate, spread a layer of compost two inches thick over your plant's root system to protect it from the cold during the winter months.
6. 6. Harvest your fruit. Once your passionfruit vine begins to flower and fruit, leave the fruit to fully ripen so that the color becomes vibrant and the rind starts to wrinkle. At that point, you can either pick the fruit or let it fall to the ground. It is now ready to eat.

Here is an overview of how to care for your passion fruit vine.

1. 1. Plant your passion fruit in moist, well-draining soil. Passiflora thrives in moist, fertile well-draining soil between a pH of 6.5 and 7.5, Fertilize your soil with mulch or organic matter compost if your soil appears too sandy or dry.
2. 2. Water your passion fruit generously without drowning it. Passion fruit plants need plenty of water but you want to make sure that your soil drains well to prevent root rot. Water your plant regularly and generously, while being careful that your soil is draining well.
3. 3. Give your plant plenty of sun. Passion fruit plants thrive in full sun and in environments with 60–80 percent humidity.
4. 4. Prune the wilting vines. Passionfruit vines will bear more fruit if the vines are regularly pruned. Prune the vines that have wilting leaves.
5. 5. Protect your plant from pests and disease. Use a mesh covering or liquid fence to protect your plant from aphids, snails, nematodes, or gulf fritillary butterflies, all of which are common North American pests. Treat your plants with fungicide in early spring to prevent fungal diseases such as fusarium wilt or crown rot.
6. 6. Winterize your plant. If you live in a tropical climate, your plant can fruit and flower year-round but it cannot survive in temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature drops below 32 degrees Fahrenheit in winter, add a layer of compost 2 inches thick over your plant's root system to protect it from the cold.
7. 7. Propagate your plant with cuttings. You can use a cutting of new growth from your passion fruit plant or fresh seeds from one of your passion fruits to propagate a new plant. If using a cutting, trim the lower leaves, plant in a small pot, and place in a warm place for up to 90 days, keeping the soil moist.
8. 8. Fertilize depleted soil. If your soil is looking dry or unhealthy, add some 10-5-20 fertilizer to encourage growth. Keep in mind that nitrogen-rich fertilizers will produce large passion fruit flowers but stunt fruit production. Choose a fertilizer with plenty of potassium, adding it to your plant in the spring and summer.

Passion fruit typically takes 12 to 18 months to bear fruit, so if you plant your seed or seedling in early spring it should be ready to harvest by early summer or fall of the following year. If you live in a tropical climate, the plants will flower and fruit year-round. Once your passion fruits are brightly colored and the rind is slightly wrinkled, they are ripe and ready to eat. Simply pluck them from the vine, or they will fall to the ground.

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