Maypop

Passiflora incarnata

 

Maypop is a vigorous native vine, growing 10 to 20 ft. each year before dying back to the ground in fall. Amazing blue-purple flowers in summer are followed by edible, lemon shaped fruits that ripen in the fall.

 

How to grow

Plant Maypop in sun to part shade and well drained soil. Drought tolerant! Flowers develop on new growth; old stems can be cut to the ground anytime during the winter.

 

Where to plant

Maypop is best planted in large, informal flower borders or meadows, where it can spread and be supported by taller perennials and shrubs. Gardeners with small flower beds can grow Maypop in a large container with a trellis for support.

 

Wildlife attracted

Maypop attracts many species of pollinators, including butterflies and hummingbirds that feed on the flowers. It’s one of the larval host plants for the beautiful Gulf and Variegated Fritillary butterflies. Birds and mammals eat the fruit.

 

Where found in the wild

In the coastal plain, Passiflora incarnata occurs along road banks, fields, and fencerows from Virginia, south into Florida. It is common in southeastern North Carolina.

 

Source and origin

Plants grown from seed collected from a fencerow in Pender County, North Carolina.

 

Comments

Fruit can be made into jelly.

 

Propagation

Seed cleaned and sown in the fall, will germinate in spring.