Growing Passionflowers From Seed.
Preparation
Scarify mechanically or with very hot water.
We recommend the mechanical method, although the hot water method also works. Rub the seeds on fine grade sandpaper or an emery board. The aim is to damage the seed coat to allow water to enter. After damaging the seed coat, soak in warm water for 12 hours and then rinse the seeds thoroughly before sowing.
Sowing
Sow in a good quality seed compost and barely cover. P. incarnata should be stratified for 4 weeks in a fridge at 4 Deg C. For all others maintain a temperature of 20 - 30 Deg C (bring incarnata into 20 Deg C after the 4 weeks cool). Ensure the compost remains moist, not wet and seal in a plastic bag or place in a propagator. Germination will take 4 - 16 weeks under ideal conditions.
Growing on.
Pot up individually when large enough to handle and then into larger pots as required. P incarnata needs a sheltered spot outside and can be planted out in the 2nd summer. Restrict the roots of all of the species in order to gain flowers (the plant will produce leaf if given too much room to develop roots)
Preparation
Scarify mechanically or with very hot water.
We recommend the mechanical method, although the hot water method also works. Rub the seeds on fine grade sandpaper or an emery board. The aim is to damage the seed coat to allow water to enter. After damaging the seed coat, soak in warm water for 12 hours and then rinse the seeds thoroughly before sowing.
Sowing
Sow in a good quality seed compost and barely cover. P. incarnata should be stratified for 4 weeks in a fridge at 4 Deg C. For all others maintain a temperature of 20 - 30 Deg C (bring incarnata into 20 Deg C after the 4 weeks cool). Ensure the compost remains moist, not wet and seal in a plastic bag or place in a propagator. Germination will take 4 - 16 weeks under ideal conditions.
Growing on.
Pot up individually when large enough to handle and then into larger pots as required. P incarnata needs a sheltered spot outside and can be planted out in the 2nd summer. Restrict the roots of all of the species in order to gain flowers (the plant will produce leaf if given too much room to develop roots)
I have found Passiflora to be one of the harder genus to germinate, however I have collected seed from a variety of sources (including this one). I found Tacsonia varieties to be the easiest to sprout and they grow very quickly. Incarnata was very successful for me. Malformis I sprouted 2/5 and Actinia 1/5. Ligularlis has been a complete failure >10 seeds as has Laurifolia >10 seeds. Maybe the tropical species are more tricky, but I have tried a mixture of methods.
ReplyDeleteScratching the surface with a knife, or sanding, and I always soak them in water for 12 -24hrs before planting. Some I try mixing the water with either lime juice, lemon juice or even the juice of a passion fruit from the supermarket. I hear the acidity helps to soften the shell and possibly “activate” the seed. Always try and germinate on a heating mat to give them added heat. These can be bought from eBay, and it definitely makes a big difference. I’ve just received some seeds of P. Ambigua, which I am very excited about being a rare species whose fruits are edible. Many thanks to the scampton team. Will keep trying on those tropical varieties.
Jonny thanks so much for your useful and informative feedback. Agree with the comment about softening the shell, but also the acid helps to simulate the seed passing through the digestive system of a bird or mammal which reduce the germination inhibitors too. Try soaking, changing the water every few hours, to remove any chemical inhibitors that may be in the seed coat or residual pulp - up to 2 days may be better as this is more like the period it spends inside the animal. Also consider the use of a salt petre soak which is often very useful with stubborn seeds. The tropical ones do seem to require a lot of heat. Often they will come up, if the pre-treatment has worked, within a couple of weeks. Sadly if it has not worked they may never come up. I think this is an inbuilt dispersal strategy - seeds that have been eaten with the pulp will be dispersed far from the parent, whereas those that fall off the vine and have the seeds at the base of the parent are set not to germinate.
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