- Home »
- Information »
- Fragrant Granadilla
Fragrant Granadilla
Passiflora alata
Medium sized (4-6"), orange to yellow passion fruit with fairly tasty light orange colored edible pulp .
Seed Availability
Seeds are not available for the Fragrant Granadilla. Please visit our seed store to view current selections. Seeds were last available in September 2015.
Description
Owing to its name, the fragrant granadilla has very fragrant flowers, looking much like smaller versions of giant granadilla flowers. The quadrangular stemmed vine is a moderately fast grower. Fruits are egg-shaped, yellow to orange in color and can grow to 4-5" long.
Hardiness
Mild frost hardiness. Can generally tolerate short temperature drops to 32F.
Growing Environment
Loves full sun and has been grown indoors. As with many Passiflora's, it is a butterfly plant and will attract bees and birds as well.
Propagation
Usually grown by seeds. There are a number of hybrids involving P. alata, the most commonly probably being P. alatocaerulea. The hybrids are propagated by softwood cuttings.
Germination Info
It is recommended to pretreat Passiflora seeds before planting. They contain a hard seed coat and are very slow to sprout. There are various pretreatment methods, but the simplest is to soak the seeds for 24-48 hours in warm to the touch water, just prior to planting. Optionally, seeds can be lightly scarified with sand paper to provide some permeation on the seed coat.
Once pretreated, plant seeds 1/2-1" deep in moist, sterile soil. Keep soil temperature consistent at 70-85F, with some day/variation in this range. Cool soils will significantly delay seed germination time if not inhibit germination altogether. Standard room temperature can be too cool for proper germination.
Estimated germination time under optimal conditions: 4 weeks to 6 months.
Uses
Usually eaten fresh.
Native Range
Native to the Amazon region of Brazil. The fragrant granadilla is cultivated in some parts of Brazil and is a highly prized fruit there.
Photo courtesy of Tomas Alvarez Mendez.