Purple passionflower, also known as maypop, is a relatively quick-growing, perennial, herbaceous vine in the Passifloraceae family. You can find this native vine growing throughout the Southeast from Texas to Kansas up to Pennsylvania and down to Florida. In Mississippi, I’ve often seen it in pastures or open fields.
It’s a great addition to an arbor or trellis and provides necessary food for the larvae of several butterfly species. The flower is very unique and attractive and blooms from April through September. Purple passionflower vine has tri-lobed leaves. This plant produces lots of tendrils to cling to structures as it climbs and grows.
How to Grow Purple Passionflower
Plant these vines in full sun and provide them with something to climb on (though they will readily spread across the ground creating a carpet). They don’t require much water and are both heat and cold tolerant. This is an easy vine to grow and requires little maintenance. The vine will die back in winter and new shoots will form in the spring. Purple passionflower can be grown in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9.
The native range of purple passionflower vine includes the Southeast and as far north as Pennsylvania and all states west to Kansas.
How to Propagate Passionflower Vine
You can propagate this plant by cuttings or by seeds. In the early spring, take a 6 to 8-inch cutting of the plant. Remove the leaves from the bottom 4 or 5 inches. Dip the cutting bottom in the rooting medium and plant it directly in moistened potting soil. Keep the soil relatively moist until roots develop — but not wet or you’ll see fungus growing on the soil.
If you want to plant the seeds, you should remove them from the fruit when the fruit starts to shrivel up and then plant them in the soil.
If the vine develops suckers, you can detach these with their roots and plant them as well. This is the easiest method to grow new passionflower vines.
Wildlife Uses for Purple Passionflower
Passionflower is an important food source for the larvae of several butterfly species including the Gulf fritillary, zebra longwing, red-banded hairstreak, and Julia butterfly. These larvae may strip a vine bare. The flowers attract butterflies and bees that feed on nectar. Some birds will eat the fruit and turkey will eat the tendrils of the plant. This plant is moderately resistant to deer.
I grow purple passionflower in my garden just to play host to the larvae of the Gulf fritillary butterfly. As a result, I rarely see the vine flower, but I get to watch butterflies as they emerge from their chrysalis. In my book, that’s a fair trade-off. On my trellis, I have paired this vine with a clematis vine to ensure that I still see some flowers in that spot, yet still provide the butterflies with their food source.
Resources
Check out the USDA plant profile for Passiflora incarnata
