Passiflora “Lady Margaret” and other Varieties

Passiflora produce one of the most exotic blooms in the plant kingdom, with a large array of colors and forms. I’m slowly collecting different cultivars, the most recent being Lady Margaret, a red variety whose tendrils have clambered up my vine wall since early June.

Lady Margaret was hybridized in 1991 by crossing Passiflora Coccinea (red) with Passiflora Incarnata (purple).  The result was an evergreen vine with 3-lobed foliage and one of the most stunning raspberry colored flowers you’ll ever see:

These complex, bowl-shaped flowers are 3-4″ wide with fleshy white stigma surrounded by thick stamens. Both sepals and petals are red but some of the petals are modified into coronal filaments that act as flags for pollinators to spot at a distance.

Here’s a diagram to help you visualize the reproductive process:

Lady Margaret is hardy outdoors in Zones 8 and above; any further north I’d suggest using hanging baskets or pots, to be moved inside when temps dip lower than 55 (F) degrees..

I’m excited to have another red passiflora variety growing along my back fence.  It was a recent pass-along from a friend unsure of its variety.  I suspect it is P. Coccinea which is fairly common around these parts and has foliage similar to mine:

You’ve seen my other Passionvines before but they’re definitely worth a second look: (click to enlarge)

Now I’m off to finish planting some fall seeds…more about that in another post! 🙂

Until next time…..

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