Passiflora mollissima - Banana Passion Fruit

Passiflora mollissima produces beautiful pink flowers and tangy yellow fruits. They're used to flavor ice creams, drinks, and cocktails. Most of the year, vivid pink flowers dangle overhead. Hummingbirds love them.

P. mollissima is a fast growing vine. It produces fruit by its second year and can yield up to 300 fruits on a single vine. Native to the Andes, it likes cooler temperatures than most of its cousins. Best in zones 8b to 10b, it's hardy to the mid 20's. Even in colder areas it may die back but will regrow from roots.

Give Banana Passion Fruit rich soil, even moisture and a sunny spot and it will grow to 20'. For best fruiting and flowering, plant it in a large pot. When the roots are confined, the plant goes into reproduction overdrive, eager to produce seeds for the next generation.

Soak seeds for 24 hours or longer, changing the water daily to soften the seed coat and leach out germination inhibitors. Passifloras are naturally slow to germinate.

10 seeds