Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Passiflora mystery

Heading in from the patio one afternoon something odd caught my eye...

This. It's to the right of the agave (photo above) and just over the strappy agapanthus foliage. Can you make out what it is? A passiflora shoot—a few leaves and those tiny tendrils that help it grab a hold of things and climb. But where did it come from?

The nearest passionflowers are about 4 feet away, on that trellis.

There's Passiflora 'Snow Queen" with distinctive, deeply lobed leaves. They're this same shape even when small.

And Passiflora 'Sunburst', with it's obvious lighter green stripes.

Stepping back and looking "big picture" there are a couple other passionflowers on at the trunk of the trachycarpus (palm) growing against the neighbor's garage, some 16-ish ft away. Could one really have traveled that far?

On the trellis is another P. 'Snow Queen', but climbing up the palm is P. lutea. Some of its leaves have sharper lobes, like you can see here.

But there are others with small rounded edges.

Could it be? I should also mention I've not had any of these plants fruit in my garden, so this isn't a seedy situation, it has to be spreading from underground runners. Looking up Passiflora lutea online I read "with the ability to sprout from its spreading root system it is a potentially suckering vine but is said to not be aggressive." That's when I remembered stories of fighting this vine, and it's desire to take over, as shared by Les at A Tidewater Gardener... and then I remembered that I'd planted a second P. lutea in another spot, about 8 ft from where the mystery vine is coming up. However it hadn't appeared there for a couple of years. Maybe because it was spending all of its energy working it's way underground? Oh my. To be continued...

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Weather Diary, June 15: Hi 65, Low 56/ Precip .36" 

All material © 2009-2020 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

18 comments:

  1. My parents had a NOID passiflora vine in their courtyard that suckered profusely. Even went under the paving into the neighbours courtyard.

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    1. I've heard the stories...I've just struggled to get them established so didn't believe it would happen here...

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  2. I suppose if/when it flowers its identity will be revealed; we do love a good mystery. The "birded" palm and trellis look so good, except I was mortified to see the giant rhododendron's leafs were being munched on! Ouch!

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  3. Yes, they can travel far even after being dug up. I removed my P. Blue Horizon last fall when I started to notice shoots 10 feet or more away. Since I dug it I have had shoots come up still , on the other side of the concrete path and in my next door neighbors yard. They pull up easy enough but still a bit disturbing . I loved that plant too, hated to dig it . I have Cobaea scandens there now.

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    1. Ugh. So now I'm trying to decide if I leave it, or pull it.

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  4. Passionflowers must love your climate, Loree! I hope this one doesn't become a pest. I wish the plants were a little more enthusiastic about the conditions in my garden. I do have one plant in a pot that hasn't outright died on me (yet). They did fairly well in my old garden but this one's hotter, drier and windier.

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    1. Denise seems to have luck with them. Are your garden conditions really that different?

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  5. I love a good mystery, hehe!

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  6. Maybe it travelled underground as you say. I have a related issue, which is a passiflora caerulea growing up the dawn redwood in the front garden. I have absolutely no idea where it came from! As far as I knew I didn't ever buy one of them.

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    1. Well that's interesting! Perhaps a bird?

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  7. In my part of the world most passionfruit vines are grafted, and the rootstock suckers like mad. Usually the desired vine dies in a few years, but the rootstock is there forever, coming up all over the place.

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    1. Okay that's a new one. Wow...I had no idea.

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  8. "Can they travel that far?" Yes. I have a magenta flowered one, same variety as your purple one and it comes up in the oddest of places, far from the mother plant that has taken over an entire fence, turning two corners. They come up as separate vines, just like yours has. I figured a bird dropped a seed?

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    1. Interesting. Sounds like I've got a new battle to stay on top of.

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  9. Passis tend to have less-lobed leaves when they emerge from rhizomes and especially in deep shade. P. caerulea (like your snow queen) is capable of distant rhizomatous suckering. We have a P. incarnata that sent shoots up 10' away from the original plant in just its second year here in CO. I'm trying to encouage it to stay in one spot by watering there and not elsewhere. And it's responding by jamming stems into the siding and fascia and crawlspace. I am endeared.

    Passiflora are such a wild bunch of jungle animals that must cackle at the idea of being tamed. They do what they want.

    So envious of your 'Sunburst', killed twice here in a container.

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    1. I'd been out in the garden before reading your comment and sure enough, the lobes are getting longer and it's looking more like Snow Queen' leaves. As for the 'Sunburst'... I discovered it had been chewed off at the base, likely by the bunny that's been spotted around the garden. I am heartbroken as it hadn't completely died back last winter and was looking amazing this year.

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