I’d been running internet searches for orange flowering vines when I ran across a listing for Passiflora ‘Sunburst’ on the website for Grassy Knoll Exotic Plants. It was beautiful, exotic and SOLD OUT. The fact it was a Zone 11 plant didn’t even get a chance to figure into the matter.
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Just a day or so later I had a visitor from California, Max Parker. We were talking about the nurseries he planned to visit in the Portland area and he mentioned Grassy Knoll, what? This was the second time that name had come up, I had no idea they were local!
Fast forward to my annual spring nursery outing with friends and guess where we visited? Yep. Sadly the owner, Elizabeth, wasn’t around that day but her kind husband allowed us to shop (they are usually wholesale only) and I did purchase a small 4” start of that Passiflora ‘Sunburst’ just look at it now…
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I bought it hoping for the orange flowers, but figuring since there were no guarantees the foliage was pretty wonderful all on its own...
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Even in the beginning stages when it’s all folded up and showing it’s purple underbelly with green veining.
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But wow, the flowers! They are a little smaller than your average passion flower, measuring about 2” across. But what they lack in size they make up for in color punch.
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The first couple of blooms only lasted a day, but the most recent ones have hung around a bit longer before fading to this…
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The stats on Passiflora 'Sunburst'…
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So now that I'm head-over-heels for this plant I'm wondering about trying to over-winter it. Obviously it's not going to make it outside. Anyone have experience? I'm thinking about cutting it back a foot or so from the ground, digging it and potting it up for winter spent under grow lights. If anyone has other ideas or experience I'd love to hear about it. And of course I'm wondering about fabulous things in your garden which have caught your attention this week...please tell us about them!
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All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
Just a day or so later I had a visitor from California, Max Parker. We were talking about the nurseries he planned to visit in the Portland area and he mentioned Grassy Knoll, what? This was the second time that name had come up, I had no idea they were local!
Fast forward to my annual spring nursery outing with friends and guess where we visited? Yep. Sadly the owner, Elizabeth, wasn’t around that day but her kind husband allowed us to shop (they are usually wholesale only) and I did purchase a small 4” start of that Passiflora ‘Sunburst’ just look at it now…
I bought it hoping for the orange flowers, but figuring since there were no guarantees the foliage was pretty wonderful all on its own...
Even in the beginning stages when it’s all folded up and showing it’s purple underbelly with green veining.
But wow, the flowers! They are a little smaller than your average passion flower, measuring about 2” across. But what they lack in size they make up for in color punch.
The first couple of blooms only lasted a day, but the most recent ones have hung around a bit longer before fading to this…
The stats on Passiflora 'Sunburst'…
- hardy in USDA Zones 10-11
- likes well drained soil in full sun to light shade
- can grow up to 10-20 ft, mine was growing from a single stem which I accidently broke trying to weave it back down and around the trellis. It’s now branching in several spots
- the flowers are said to be unpleasantly scented but I haven’t noticed a foul odor, unlike from my Eryngium venustum
- oh and those yellow dots on the leaves, they're called nectar dots but I can't find a great explanation of what that means (at least pertaining to anything but cherries), anybody know?
So now that I'm head-over-heels for this plant I'm wondering about trying to over-winter it. Obviously it's not going to make it outside. Anyone have experience? I'm thinking about cutting it back a foot or so from the ground, digging it and potting it up for winter spent under grow lights. If anyone has other ideas or experience I'd love to hear about it. And of course I'm wondering about fabulous things in your garden which have caught your attention this week...please tell us about them!
All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.