I also would like to get some exotics and there's only one place I have found in the valley and that's Tropica Mango.

The only other info I have found for Phoenix Metro exotics is from this site:

http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Passifloraceae/Passiflora_flavicarpa.html

If you find another company here locally, please share :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Passiflora edulis var. flavicarpa

kccav,

Thanks for the info on AZ Rare Fruit Growers. Very much appreciated.

yeah. Im so mad that I cant ever catch up with getting tropicals at lowes. But I managed to get a grape vine.

Where do you plant the passi? Does it like shade or sun?

Ive got a 30 ft vine on the north side of house. Full of fruit. Trunk no sun but leaves get sun till noon. Its grown 10 foot since April. Watered once a week about 3 gallons.

I have my passi planted on the west side of my house in the backyard and it's thriving. It's got alot of Frutillary catepillars and butterflies around it.It loves the sun.

This vine loves the sun!!!! I love it, but here's the deal. It's butterfly food here in Tucson....beautiful butterflies that have fuzzy brown catepillars. They would eat my vines to the ground....which defeated the purpose of having these beautiful plants. Make sure they are watered and given full sun for success. They grow fast and die back in winter....they they grow back in spring and the butterflies find them.....that has been my challenge with them. Good luck:)

Not a problem! That sounds like a fringe benefit to me. I just make sure I have lots of vines and a couple varieties for them to choose from so the butterflies and I can share.

I had one variety that I had started from seed that the butterflies loved.. I tried to move it to a more spacious location and it died (before I knew how to air layer). So I got the purple fruiting type from a nursery online and I haven't seen any butterflies on it for some reason. They are in much sunnier locations so I wonder if that has anything to do with it. I've cloned it 3 times so far using air layering and all plants have the same issue.. the butterflies aren't attracted to them. I did get a single fruit in spring from 1 of them.

I have had my Passion Fruit vine (Frederick) for over two years. It has taken over the fence on two sides and gone up a tree and into the bushes. I haven't had any significant damage from butterfly larva and I do get a few around it. I got probably 15 or more fruit this year. The only problem was that the vine was so dense that I missed some of the fruit until it fell to the ground and it was a bit overripe. Of course I ate it anyway. My next years goal is to get enough in one day to make a passion-fruit margarita. I haven't read about air layering so I will do some research on that. I would like some more vines to go around my whole fence as it seems to really like it here.

Right about now is the best time to start the air layer process if you're in the desert area in AZ. I'm going to start some more this weekend. Every year I air layer around 4 vines and it varies how many take root (usually depending on how well I cut them).

This is basically what I do: The cut is the most important part I've found.. if you cut too deep, the vine will die before it can root, if you don't cut enough, it will just heal and roots will take a lot longer from it (if any form at all). I cut about 1 foot away from the end of the vine on a new growing vine. I cut a diagonal cut into the vine upward and about halfway through the vine is best. Then put a very small piece of wax paper (or grafting tape) in there to keep the sides separated. It's real easy to accidentally bend the vine and break off the cut at this point so you have to be careful (and I have the next part ready to go so I don't have to drop the vine). Then I dip a handful of dried sphagnum moss in water (not milled peat moss, I find that doesn't work as well for some reason), wring it out and then wrap it around the cut portion. I wrap press and seal cling wrap around it (you could use regular cling wrap too), then tie the ends firmly with a piece of string on each. Then wrap a piece of aluminum foil around it. The aluminum foil is pretty important because the plant needs darkness to grow roots. Make sure it covers the whole thing and no light is seeping in the sides. Then just leave it alone until spring..

I usually check them around mid February and you can see roots up against the side of the plastic. Then I just cut it just below the roots and place it in a pot where it grows like crazy over the summer. You could probably just plant them directly into the ground at that point but I like to make sure they have an easy time getting big before they go in the ground.

I used to try to water the air layer over the winter, but I find it best to make sure the ends are sealed well with string (and the press and seal wrap makes it easier to seal it).