This is the first time that I have fruit on my Passiflora vine. How do I know when it is ripe? What is the minimum temperature that I can overwinter it in a greenhouse? It is Passiflora caerulea.
The fruit is yellow when ripe and it is lousy to eat. The fruit is most insipid and has no merit as a food in my decided opinion. The plants will overwinter as long as the temperature is about 10 degree C. Cut well back, but mke sure some vegetation remains, about eight inches. I have kept them over wintering in the basement by withholding water until about February in Zone 5. Transplanting outdoorss after the last frost is the usual procedure. http://www.durgan.org/Blog/Durgan.html
Curiosity will get the better of me. I find it to be an overwhelming desire to sample anything edible that I grow, no matter how unpalletable. Thank you very much for the info!!
some passiflora are good eating fresh some are really really sour but do make a pretty good drink with enough sugar that is. have even heard of people using it instead of lemon in pies and a little juice goes a long ways. if the fruit gets to full color take it off the vine take inside and let the fruit start getting a bit crinkely not totally mumified just wrinkled and it should be a bit sweeter. some are just better than others even plants grown from the same seeds
Myself and a few other individuals in this area have passiflora incarnata situated in a warm growing location . Mine sets fruit every year and I do not mind them but they are an acquired taste ; the oval skinned fruit is peeled and you suck the pulp off of the seeds similar to eating a pomegranate . Just south of us in Ohio , passiflora incarnata is a native plant , so if you can find a warm well drained location near the house and add a bit of mulch you may be able to overwinter passiflora in the deeper part of SW Ontario . Happy Growing !!
