Border passion flowers

RHS Genus Guide

Producing a succession of summer flowers, these vigorous plants can cover sunny walls and fences. In a sheltered location, you can grow them over arbours and pergolas or through established trees and shrubs.
This group includes the common blue Passiflora caerulea, its white cultivar Passiflora 'Constance Elliot' and several other named hybrids.

Botanical name: Passiflora

Common name: Passion flower

RHS / Herbarium

Appearance

The striking flowers comprise a ring of white petals surrounding a boss of usually purple-blue and white filaments, seemingly nailed in position by the prominent reproductive parts that project from the centre.

Preferences

Passion flowers do best in full sun, flowering most freely against a warm wall. They will tolerate light shade but flower less freely. Your passion flower will need to climb on a trellis or wires if you grow it against a wall or fence, and will need ample space in which to grow. These vigorous climbers can produce stems up to 25m (82ft) long; although on a fence or wall you can train these back and forth to save space. Any well-drained soil is suitable.

Dislikes

Passion flowers won't flower well in a very shady position. A very hard frost can kill some or all of the top-growth but established plants usually recover well.