Another update on my vine. I think it is possible that the cold weather might have killed most of it. I think we had one of the coldest (if not coldest) winter in a decade. I also noticed another grape vine in my neighborhood that had a few leaves like mine, but I saw it from distance, so I'm not sure. The new canes are still growing. However, I noticed something strange. Some of the new leaves look dried up with light green spots, sometimes with holes (probably caused by insects). See pictures. Not all of the leaves are like this, maybe 50-60%. Is it some sort of disease? Growth seems slow to me. Usually, when I apply Miracle Gro in May, it grows like crazy. I haven't yet applied it this year because I'd like to know if there's something with it.

My CE is planted next to a palm tree, not a structure or wall and it was evergreen this winter. It's flowering like mad right now, but soon the catties will be munching on it (right now they're munching the lavenderlady).

You can order passiflora incarnata from many mail-order nurseries for a very reasonable price. When happy, it can spread, but it's such a favorite host of the gulf and variegated frits, I'd just pull up any suckers that I didn't want. You could also order and plant p. caerulea, which has quite a few cultivars - this seems less invasive. The butterflies like it, but not as well as p. incarnata, at least not in my garden. The red-flowering tropical types - except for at least one hybrid, 'Lady Margaret' - are toxic to the caterpillars, that is, if a fritillary even lays eggs on it in the first place. Plus, they're VERY cold sensitive, and won't come back in the spring in north Mississippi. My 'Lady Margaret' didn't come back - one of its parents is the tender p. coccinea, the other p. incarnata, which I was hoping would give it cold hardiness. Sunlight Gardens in Tennessee sells p. incarnata for only $5.00. Sherry P.S. I thought you would have ordered it by now - go ahead, take the plunge! :) Here is a link that might be useful: Sunlight Gardens

I adore the Gulf Fritillary butterflies! My neighbors had 2 passion vines on the wood lattice topper on our shared wall. Both ornamental, no fruit. One was the classic purple flower and the other was a red flower that was more bell shaped and produced nectar that meant it was always full of ants. Well we always saw butterflies flitting about but never caterpillars. I think the ants ate them as soon as they hatched. Well the lattice was rotten and new neighbors moved in who sweetly asked if it was OK to remove it. We were more than happy since we wanted to replace wood with steel topper. But then I seriously missed the butterflies. I saw zero for a year. I missed them so much I planted a passion vine on the shared wall of the other neighbors. Just the purple flower that doesn’t have nectar so it won’t attract ants. Well for the first time in a year, I see not only butterflies but larva! I plan to cut it back to the “trunk“ each winter so it doesn’t get out of control this time. This vine is incredibly vigorous and could completely cover a carport if you let it. I don’t care about the flowers which are always there or the look of the vine, which is always green with chew holes, but my heart sings when every day I sit in the patio surrounded by the fluttering of beautiful amber butterflies. Usually 2 or 3 but sometimes 7 or 8 as I also provide nectar flowers for them. For me, the whole point of the vine is the butterflies.