- Home »
- Information »
- Water Lemon
Water Lemon
Passiflora laurifolia
Medium sized, ovaloid fruit, usually with a deep orange skin and white-yellow, extremely juicy pulp. The water lemon has an excellent perfumy-mild taste, without the tartness of the common passion fruit. A not widely known, and very underrated passion fruit.
Seed Availability
Seeds are not available for the Water Lemon. Please visit our seed store to view current selections. Seeds were last available in September 2018.
Description
Vigorously growing vine up to 30+ feet long. Grows best in slightly drier humid climates. It isn't too picky about soil or water requirements other than liking ground moisture year-round.
Hardiness
Tropical, will not stand any frost.
Growing Environment
N/A
Propagation
Almost always grown from seeds, but can be propagated by cuttings. Bottom heating the seeds at 70-80F can result in germination at 1-2 weeks, at lower temperatures seeds can take up to 10 weeks to germinate.
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: 6 weeks to 6 months.
Uses
Eaten fresh or used in drinks.
Native Range
Native to tropical America. It is an invasive plant in tropical regions and has spread to many other parts of the world. Only occasionally cultivated, but fruits are usually available in markets wherever the vine grows wild.