Giant granadilla 'Giant Granadilla'

Pruning is a must to keep the vine healthy. Prune off less vigorous growth and occasionally prune back vigorous growth to promote flowering. When established, and without care, the passion fruit can easily overtake other garden plants, shading them from sun.

Hardiness zone 10, (1°C/35°F) in Winter. Protect from frost or plant in frost free areas. The Giant Granadilla is hardy to 35°F when mature, frost tender when young. Provide ideally a temperature of 15°- 28°C . Keep the atmosphere humid through the Summer and place in full sun, can tolerate partial shade. Passiflora Quadrangularis loves the warm humid Tropics.

You may need to water your plants on a daily basis during the hottest Summer months. During the Winter the roots should be kept moist, but as growth will be much slower you will probably only need to water once a week, depending on growing temperature. It will do best in a loam based mix with a little peat moss.

If their pot is too large or if they have an unrestricted root run then the whole plant will simply get bigger and bigger but it will refuse to flower and therefore produce the fruits. By limiting the pot size you are limiting the ability to grow and this is seen as a threat, so the natural mechanism is to produce seed for the next generation. A suitably sized pot for an adult plant would generally be of 12 inches in diameter.

Try to plant in a location that enjoys full sun and remember to water often. Keep in mind when planting that Giant Granadilla is thought of as tender, so remember to wait until your soil is warm and the night time temperature is well above freezing before moving outside. Try to keep the ph of your soil between the range of 5.6 and 7.5 as Giant Granadilla likes to be in weakly acidic soil - weakly alkaline soil.

Soak seed in warm water for 24 hours before sowing, in a good seed compost at 1/4" deep. For Passiflora seeds, instead of using water you can use a high pulp fruit juice such as passion fruit juice or orange juice. The acid in these juices will soften the shell and speed up germination. Keep damp soil, not soaking wet. Keep pot in warm situation 20°C/68°F, 24°C/75°F. Cover the top of the pot with clear plastic so the humidity will remain high.

When you see some tiny plants starting to sprout, slowly open the top of the pot, a little each day, so that the new seedlings don’t go into shock from the humidity being lowered too quickly. Germination of Passiflora can occur in weeks or take several months. If you want to speed up germination, you can use the bottom heat technique, but it isn’t a must.
If your home is on the low side of 70ºF, your seeds will benefit from bottom heat. Give warmth from underneath to stimulate early growth, and to help seeds to germinate. The ideal situation is to maintain the soil temperature at 70ºF. For this, you use an electric soil warming cable kit, or a heating mat that goes under your flats; or any other source of heat. With the proper temperature, you will cut by 2 or 3 the germination time.

Sow 0.23 inches (0.6 cm) deep with a guideline distance of 3.25 feet (1.00 metres).

There will be sufficient vegetative growth and root development to permit transplanting in 30 days. Air- or ground-layers are also satisfactory.

Ensure that temperatures are mild (minimum night temperatures should be around 15°C / 59°F) and all chance of frost has passed before planting out, as Giant Granadilla is a tender plant.

This variety tends to be ready for harvesting by early autumn.

The giant granadilla is generally agreed to be a native of tropical America, though the actual place of origin is unknown. It was growing in Barbados in 1750 and is present in several other Caribbean Islands and in Bermuda. It is commonly cultivated, and sometimes an escape from cultivation or truly wild, from Mexico to Brazil and Peru. At some point in the 18th Century, it was introduced into Malaya, where it thrives in both the north and the south. In Vietnam, it is limited to the southern half of the country. Perhaps it had reached Indonesia earlier, for it is more common and even naturalized there. It is also cultivated in the lowlands of India, Ceylon and the Philippines; in tropical Africa, and throughout Queensland, Australia. In tropical North Queensland it has run wild, growing lushly in jungle areas. It flourishes and fruits heavily especially in the Cairns district. It was being grown in Hawaii in 1888 and by 1931 had become naturalized in moist places. The United States Department of Agriculture received seeds from Trinidad in 1909 and the vine is very occasionally planted in southern Florida, but is too cold-sensitive to survive in California.