Passionvine
Passiflora incarnata
Otherworldly lavender-purple blooms July through September, plus sweet-tart edible fruit. Exclusive host for the gulf fritillary butterfly.
Typically 1 quart–3 gal · $17–$85 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Sep 248 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Sep 258 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Sep 268 AM – 2 PM
No native vine hosts more butterflies, produces edible fruit, AND stops a hillside from washing away. passionvine does all three.
Passionvine has the most otherworldly flower of any native vine: lavender-purple petals with a corona of radiating filaments that looks like it came from a different continent. It blooms heavily from July through September, and the blooms attract bumblebees, native bees, and the large, spectacular gulf fritillary butterfly, for which this vine is the exclusive larval host east of the Rockies. The edible yellow-green fruits ripen in late summer and early fall, sweet-tart and fragrant. It spreads by runners and can colonize a fence line or steep slope quickly, which makes it excellent for erosion control, and something to manage if you want contained growth. In the right spot, there is nothing in the native vine palette that combines wildlife value, edible fruit, and sheer floral spectacle the way passionvine does.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown passionvine propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 5–20 ft · 36–96 in wide
- Bloom time
- July–September
- Bloom color
- Purple
- USDA zones
- 5–9
- Family
- Passifloraceae
- Native range
- Eastern and Central United States
Care notes for passionvine.
Full sun to part shade in average to dry soil. Extremely adaptable. Dies back to the ground in winter and re-emerges vigorously in spring. Allow spread if you want a colony; mow or edge to contain. No supplemental watering needed once established. Do not fertilize heavily. it pushes foliage over flowers.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside passionvine.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
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The Exceptional Patio Garden Package is a low maintenance, fool proof way to guarantee an endless color show for you and your guests to enjoy all patio season long.