Growing the ‘Lady Margaret’ Passion Flower vines in the Northeast Florida Landscape
Origins of ‘Lady Margaret ’ Passion Flower Vine:
The Passiflora genus is considered pan-tropical, it is distributed among the tropical regions of the planet and consists of more than 500 species with most found in South America, eastern Asia, southern Asia, and New Guinea and some found in our very own SE United States like our native passiflora incarnata. They are members of the family passifloraceae and may be a vine, shrub, or herbaceous plant.
” Lady Margaret’ Passionflower vine is an interspecies cross that WAS thought to be from Passiflora coccinnea ( coccinea has now changed to passiflora minniata) and our native passiflora incarnata. … the resulting cross, unlike other red passionflower vines, it is utilized by Gulf Frittilary, Zebra longwing and Julia butterflies as a host plant. I have a beautiful specimen of ‘Lady Margaret’ planted and trellised on an arch panel at the nursery site in full sun that attracts Gulf Frittilaries and one intermingled with a passiflora quadralangularis at home in the shade that the zebra longwings will visit.
Blooms and Fruit of ‘Lady Margaret’ Passion Flower Vine:
Beautiful blooms have 5 dark maroon red sepals and 5 dark maroon petals and a corolla with filaments of bright white changing to dark maroon and back to white towards the outer edges. long dark curly filaments and darker purple sepals and petals. A very showy flowering vine that starts blooming in spring and blooms through to the first frost her in Northeast Florida. The deep wine red colored flowers are a major attraction of butterflies and other pollinators to the garden.
Fruits form mid summer and are edible but are often not very full of pulp. They are oval in shape and are produced abundantly on vines along with the flowers.
Foliage and Mature Size of the ‘Lady Margaret’ Passion Flower Vine in NE Florida Landscapes:
A very bright green trilobed leaf with the center lobe more dominant. The vines on Lady Margaret grow quickly during summer months and can reach 10-30 ft long so give them a good supporting structure to climb and remember to train your vines sideways along the fence or trellis ( they will go up all on their own) Expect the foliage to drop in the winter time. If winter temperatures drop below 27 you will get some vine damage but the plant will regrow from its root system if the vines are completely damaged in zone 8b or 9a. You can also protect the lower vines by piling mulch, leaf debri, straw or pine straw up around them in the winter time to help insulate them a bit!
Exposure for ‘Lady Margaret’ Passion Flower Vine in NE Florida Landscapes:
Plant these pollinator attracting flowers in full sun or partial shade. Morning shade with all afternoon sun is also ideal, this is a sun loving, heat loving vine!
Soil Preference for ‘Lady Margaret’ Passion Flower Vine in NE Florida Landscapes:
Passion flowers are tolerant of a wide range of soils and conditions and components and are right at home in Floridas sandy soils provided they are well drained. While passion flowers like moist soils they don’t like to sit in water for prolonged periods during the rain season.
Want to see more Passionflower vines for NE Florida landscapes? Links below!
Blue Passion Flower Vine / Passiflora caerulea
Passion Flower Giant Grandilla
Passion Flower ‘Lavender Lady’
Passion Flower Maypop / incarnata