How Long Does It Take Purple Passionflower to Germinate?

Seed Collection

• Spring and summer flowers give way to egg-shaped berries that take two to three months to mature. You’ll know the seeds are ready to be harvested when the berry is orange with a yellow cast to it and it feels soft when lightly squeezed. If you pop open a berry and the seeds are brown, they’re ready to harvest. Scoop them out of the maypop, place them in a strainer, and run cool water over them, using your fingers to remove the aril -- the sticky substance that clings to each seed. If you don’t plan on germinating the seeds right away, wrap them in slightly damp sphagnum peat moss and store them in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Seed Preparation

• Soaking the seeds speeds germination of the purple passionflower. Use either a 5 percent alcohol and water solution or 2 tablespoons of household bleach and 6 tablespoons of water. Both methods require a 24-hour soak but if you choose to use the bleach solution, place the mixture and seeds in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 24 hours. When you remove the seeds, rinse them with tap water and lay them on newspaper or paper towels until they are completely dry.

Seed Sowing

• Although direct seeding outdoors is recommended, it is possible to start the purple passionflower seeds indoors. Whether indoors or outdoors, the most important aspect to speedier germination is soil temperature and this is more easily controlled indoors. Use a heat mat under the germination container to keep the soil heated to between 68 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit -- the warmer the better. The soil needs to remain moist at all times. Once the seedlings emerge, start tapering off the heat mat’s temperature, gradually, over the course of one week.

Considerations

• Purple passionflower vine looks striking climbing over an arbor or wall. If this is how you choose to grow it, transplant the seedling 6 inches away from the structure. As the vine grows, train it up the support structure. It will naturally take hold and begin climbing on its own. Don’t be alarmed if the vine appears to be dying in late fall or early winter. It is one of the few deciduous Passiflora species and will return when the weather warms in the spring.