Germination The P. incarnata seedlings above are a few days old. Having been stored in the fridge for a few months they came up 4 days after sowing. Amazing, as like many Passiflora it can be very difficult to grow from seed. Passiflora seed germination is a complex matter about which little is known. For the beginner who does not want to wade through pages of text see below for the basics re seed germination. Hybrids Note that new hybrids must be grown from seed of the parental cross, which will be more variable than species seed, possibly with the plant taking more characteristics of the female flower & the male foliage. The best seedlings of hybrids can be named & then cuttings taken to perpetuate them. If you grow a plant from hybrid seed it may flower within a few months. Species seed may take up to 5-6 years although most will do it in two. Exceptions include P. incarnata, P. foetida & P. tarminiana which may also flower within months. Also some plants grown from seed may never flower. Existing hybrids will only grow true from cuttings. Basics - Presoak seed for 48-72 hours in a small glass of water in a warm location e.g. sunny window cill. The viable seed should all sink to the bottom of the glass. After soaking throw out any seed that are still floating as they are unlikely to be viable.
- Plant the remaining seed at a very shallow depth in a mix of well watered light soil & vermiculite or pearlite & put the pot inside a plastic bag. Tiny seed like Decaloba should be sprinkled on the surface. Blow into the bag to inflate it then tie tightly at the top & put somewhere very warm with bottom heat in the light. Ideally use a propagator.
- Either way make sure that the seed never dry out. A temperature drop at night seems to help for some seed. Here is an alternative soilless method of germination.
Patience Be patient..wait & hope..it may take a few days or even months! If anything comes up, put it in shade at first, potting it on quickly in a light potting mix before the roots get too deep. Note - always separate seed as soon as possible after germination and put one seedling per pot. The ideal transplant should involve no direct contact with any part of the plant. Again keep it in a plastic bag to start with & gradually roll it down to expose it to the air. Then place somewhere sunny with good air circulation to begin hardening off.
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