P. gritensis and P. luzmarina: plants for cool shade

10 years ago

Perhaps it would be useful to make a list of all Passifloras that do well in shade (or require shade).

I was at a friend's garden yesterday in San Francisco (Mission Dolores neighborhood). Passiflora gritensis was in bloom:

I managed to get a cutting of that. It will not be my first try at growing that species...

I was unaware that P. luzmarina also loves/requires shade. Photo of a cutting with buds and flowers. Flowers are smaller than most Tacsonias.

This final one probably requires some sun, but for me sends vines into deep shade to bloom. Passiflora 'Mission Dolores' (P. parritae x P. antioquiensis). It thrives in the SF climate and probably tolerates more sun up there:

Since this is an old plant, I thought some might find a look at the base to be interesting:

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Comments (3)

mark4321_gw
Original Author
10 years ago
I'll add Passiflora loefgrenii to the list. Not strictly a cool grower, and I've never grown it in full shade. However, I've heard that in warmer climates such as Florida it grows best in shade.

My first flower of the year opened today. I don't want to totally hijack the other thread, so I'll post it here.
morningloree
10 years ago
Beautiful bloom, we had a horrible storm yesterday and my bloom fell off, I'm happy to see yours! Some of my plants looked like they had hail damage although there was no report of it. Lots of large tree branches down. I still have some immature blooms still left, maybe I still have a chance for some to Flower. I do have my P. loefgrenii in part shade with the option to climb and get more sun. I'm convinced there is not a shady spot cool enough here for 'Mission Dolores.'
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sorry it took a bit of time.. very busy weekend ... this is a splendid plant... but i want you to see this pic.. so your head doesnt explode IF it happens ... in MI ... all yellow .. towards white tissue.. can burn off.. in a bad winter.. especially the one after transplant... NEVER FORGET.. life is all in the buds.. and even if it goes nudey .... if the buds stay hard and brown ... it will reflush ... its never going to be a dense pine .... i swear to God i loaded all the BRV pix.. but they arent showing for me right now..maybe tomorrow ... look at the leader growth on a pic of the whole.. looks about 12 inches to me .... so it is a bit less than a standard green dens pine ... side shoot growth looks a bit less at maybe 8 ... this could easily be candle pruned.. to make it fuller .. denser.. and more shapely .... ken
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Hi Melissa, All of the parents of P. exoniensis x parritae (mollissima, antioquiensis and parritae) can only take temps to the mid to upper 20s from what I've read (I think I've occasionally seen lower for mollissima). So you would definitely have to protect it over the winter at least some of the time. I have only had mine since February and our last really cold weather (26 F) was in January, so I really don't know what it can take. However, even if you protect it from the cold, the summer heat could get you. I've heard stories that people grow P. exoniensis in Florida, but not much detail--can they bloom it? The usual story you hear with Tacsonias, of course is that they don't really like it over 85 and that they really need cool nights. However, we have had two big heat waves already this year, and the plant actually seemed to like it. Recently it hit 96 and then 98 and the plant responded by increasing its growth rate from 1 inch/day to 2 inches/day. However...the nights were in the 50s. My plant is also where it gets full shade in the afternoon. So I doubt it would live outside all year there, but you are welcome to try. I actually rooted a bunch of these during our first heat wave, when it was 80 and above inside for several days in a row. One of the cuttings was in those 80 degree temperatures PLUS bottom heat, and it rooted slightly faster than the other ones. So perhaps this hybrid isn't bothered by heat as much as some others? I don't know. Still I would give it shade in the afternoon. Since it's so easy to root it would also be easy to take cuttings and risk a plant in the cold.
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Here's the latest: It looks like the situation has been resolved. I've been told that the hybridizer is growing some of the seedlings, that two have bloomed and they look like P. 'Mission Dolores' (P. parritae x antioquiensis). So apparently the pollen somehow came from P. antioquiensis, which is growing in the hybridizer's garden. Interestingly, as far as I can tell the seedlings resemble P. parritae in many ways, and some features, such as the petiole glands, differ significantly from P. 'Mission Dolores'. Perhaps there is variability in the cross, or maybe these change as the plant matures. I thought it was important to figure out whether the seedlings were new P. parritae clones. In this case simply waiting for the flower to bloom could have led to the loss of many of the clones if people didn't think think another hybrid was worth the time, space and effort. Plus there would have been less reason to aggressively propagate the seedlings. It was surprising that the answer to their identity came so quickly, and of course the more information the better.
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Hi MissSherry, From what I've read about P. gritensis, it is a shade plant in its native habitat, and also cannot tolerate temps above the low 80s. It apparently prefers cool temps, with night time dips to the 50s. It might be possible to grow it inside during the summer, and put it outside during the fall, winter and spring (with freeze protection of course). But apparently almost no one in the U.S. has gritensis plants, and I've only seen one for sale on ebay. I've never seen seeds for sale either, which makes me think that the clones in cultivation all derive from the same cutting that someone was lucky enough to keep alive until it rooted. It is available in Europe, along with a number of other passies that we can't get here in the U.S. (very frustrating). So the hybrids are definitely the way the go. I have an Anastasia (gritensis x caerulea 'Constance Elliot') that I got from Grassy Knolls, and it is nearly 8 feet long now (with no side shoots). I am growing it under a covered patio to keep it in the shade and out of the 90 degree temps. It seems to like that spot. Pink Festival is another gritensis hybrid (gritensis x amethystina, I think) that I was considering--it looks nearly identical to Anastasia, and they both look nearly identical to gritensis. And according to the Grassy Knolls website, both are relatively easy to grow. Hope this helps! Mark
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mark4321_gw
Original Author
10 years ago
Sorry to hear about your bud! P. loefgrenii is a really strong bloomer once it gets started. If you already have buds I'm sure it will bloom. I expect it will take a break for summer--it does here, although I'm not exactly sure for how long.

'Mission Dolores' dying is no surprise given its behavior in California and elsewhere. Is there anything from 2500 m in the Andes that can make it in Florida? I've heard the most adaptable plant to come out of that location/elevation is the potato, which I understand can be grown in Florida, as a cool season crop. However, other plants that grow with the Tacsonias, such as cool growing Masdevallia and Dracula Orchids from similar elevations, are also impossible.

I consider our climate borderline too hot for most Tacsonias. They do SO much better in SF or on the coast. Our temperatures average 75/55 in summer (at least the last 2). In other words, our summer highs are about the same as your summer lows. Highs in more optimal areas average about 10 degrees cooler than us.

I'll give a link to the temperatures which killed big, established, blooming plants of P. antioquiensis and P. 'Mission Dolores'. P. parritae survived, as did a plant of P. antioquiensis next door growing in heavy shade. These are plants of SocalBill, who has posted pictures here. The weather station is not exactly where he lives, but it should be close enough.

This was not a dry period, with average humidity in the 70s or 80s, peaking around 100% at night. Dew points were high, mostly upper 60s, low 70s. Bill thinks the hot days combined with warm nights did them in.

I think grafting is the way to go to try to improve heat tolerance. The people I know offhand who are trying it now are two graduate students at UF. One of these has posted on this site as ethane. He has a nice tutorial on grafting and I believe he or the other UF student are happy to provide any advice. Another person trying grafting is the wife of "eristal" the PSI president (she's also the PSI treasurer).

Here is a link that might be useful: Extended heat wave, 2012, Southern CA

P. gritensis and P. luzmarina: plants for cool shade

Comments (3)

mark4321_gw
Original Author

morningloree

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P. gritensis and P. luzmarina: plants for cool shade

Comments (3)

mark4321_gwOriginal Author

morningloree

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