Maypop Passionfruit Improvement Project

Hello! I'm unsure if this is feasible, but I just ordered some Maypop seeds yesterday. My goal is to replace the Virginia Creeper on the side of my house with 10-20 Maypops, and, hopefully, selectively breed for Hardy vines that can survive the relatively mild winters of Louisiana, without dying back.

If anyone has a notably hardy specimen, I'd love to hear about it. Conversely, if anyone has knowledge regarding the feasibility of this, I'd love to hear about that too!

TIA

Hi, I'm new to the network, also to this group (Project). I am located in USDA Zone 7b/8a in the Ouachita Mts. of Western Arkansas.
I'm slowly converting the East quarter of my one acre lot into permaculture food forest and it is home to large numbers of native P. incarnata, some of which produce acceptable (sweet, juicy and fairly large) fruit. I will be trying, this season and for the next few seasons, to do some controlled cross pollination between some of the better fruiting vines, by hand. Seed saved from these crosses will be planted and we'll see what happens. I'm excited to find this project!

Sincerely,
Jeff P. Flanigan

Started growing out seeds from the "Superior" passiflora incarnata from peaceful heritage this spring, and have lots of fruit set. One vine in particular has especial large fruit. Looking forward to trying them, and possibly sharing seeds or cuttings with others here.

There hasn't been a post in here in awhile. How are folks doing?

Here are some pictures of my maypops. I am growing in Durham NC.

I collected seed from some fairly tasty maypops in fall of 2021. Started to get some germination in spring of 2023. Planted 4-5 second-year plants in this pot this spring. They are growing well!

Looking forward to trying the fruit and saving seed from the best!

Hi @julia — I'm not sure about seedlings, but my maypops (planted from seeds purchased here) don't come up until a bit late in the season. I want to say late May/June but can't quite remember. But it's well after everything else in the garden gets going so I'd say it's possible your seeds may still come up!

Hello all!

I hope y'all are doing well. I just wanted to check in and see if anybody is starting new plants this year or has guidance for how to do so; I'm in zone 6 and found maypops in the wild last year and fell in love, planted some of the seeds outdoor to cold stratify, and it looks like they didn't germinate. How have you had the most success starting maypops? Does anybody have seed available, or should I wait until fall to collect them?

Hi everybody, i grow maypop in Czechia in Central Europe. My climate zone is about 7a but sometimes the winter here is wet, so its not easy for the plants. In 2019 i planted about 90 seeds bought on ebay (from Germany, Hungary, UK), now i have selection of about 15 plants, best growing and adapted. I dont get seeds from them yet, but last year i had several flowers. Next year p.e. i would like to try more seeds from the most hardy plants possible (whith large and tasty fruits, of course :) i hope i get some recommendation here. Thank you! Martin

Hi everyone,

I previously commented about our passionflower patch in our backyard in Northeast Kansas. I have lots of seed pods that have been sitting outside. If anyone would like some, please let me know. I can't guarantee how well they'll germinate as they've been sitting out and have gone through lots of temperature swings, but maybe it'll help break dormancy? Anyways, feel free to contact me if you would like any. You don't have to pay for the seeds, but would appreciate it regardless as it does take time out from my own farm. Shipping costs will have to be covered by you though. I can't afford to send them out for free. My email is below for reaching out:

matt.r.bellomy@gmail.com

Hello,

I would also love to be able to assist but, seeds are sold out. I can purchase and provide shipping.

Thanks,
Christen

Hi I would love to join in on this project but the seeds on EFN's site are sold out. Can anyone help me get some seeds? I can pay for shipping. Send me an email to R.pembroke856@gmail.com if you can help, since we can't seem to be able to message other people on this. Thanks!

In our backyard we have a maypop patch that has been going strong for about 9 years. This was transplanted from another home in town, where it was also thriving. They got their original plants from a wild cutting in Florida (I believe). It is a prolific grower, we harvest large bundles of the leaves for tea quite regularly and it doesn't seem to phase the plant at all. Additionally, we don't provide any cover for the plant or take care of it in any way. So it's handled polar vortex weather (-10F) up to NE Kansas summers, easily into the upper 90s & 100s. Been flooded out for a week and handled 3 week long droughts perfectly fine.

So if anyone is interested in getting seeds, or if there's anyway I can help out with this project. Please let me know! I can try to document the growth a bit more this year.

I collected some maypop seeds from a particularly tasty fruit in late fall and have just planted them. I am in zone 7b/8a. I will definitely upload info as it comes!

I am interested in experiment this plant in my area. I am in North Central Texas, Zone 7. I am happy to pay for shipping. Thanks.

This is my first flower, it smelled and looked great, unfortunately it was promply eaten by a squirrel. Fortunately there are still plenty of buds to come, so I'll try to protect them somehow.

The vine is about a meter high, growing on a trellis, it just started sending another shoot from the base. I planted 5 seeds in march with no special treatment, I got 4 plants out of them. They are all still alive, but one has barely grown (it got completely shaded by some kale) and two others are growing in a friends garden and I've yet to see them. Though I've been told they are not flowering yet.

The plant this flower is from is growing in full sun on a terrace in Montréal Quebec (between zone 5 and 6) in a 1 cubic foot large container which it shares with a cucumber and some dill. It took a while to get going but in july it's height almost tripled.

This is my first incarnata flower. I pollinated it with caerulea. There was also a fruit, which unfortunately did not ripen completely. But the seeds were intact.
Next year there will hopefully be other clones so that I can cross pure incarnatas.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2jBzw4R][img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/5028…]

Hey yall I'm in Bangor Maine, its a zone 5 here, still in an apartment so I cant try all that I want to with this guy but I do germinate a passionflower incense variety which is from maypop. Once I get some land and am able to amend my soils properly I have some ideas to allow for a deeper root system and hopefully assist in making these more cold hardy through further generations.

Would love to hear any updates from zone 6 participants!

I've been blessed with more maypop vines than I could have hoped for.
These are all volunteers and are of the wild variety. I hope to harvest
many fruits, and already have at least two that are approaching 2.5 inches
in diameter.

I have access to some maypops that are on their 3rd season from north Alabama. Are the seeds for purchase from the EFN from this project? They are currently out of stock.

I'm just joining this project in planning for the spring gardens but I don't see any seeds available. Do you anticipate having them available in the next season? I'm already growing Passiflora incarnata (PA native).