Passiflora incarnata in Brazil
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Rubens Pellicciari
Posted on: January 09, 2005

I live in Brazil in the São Paulo state, along capricorn tropic, where the temperature goes from 10 to 30 C Celsius. Sun is intense as well rain in the proper season (from November to April).

I am a owner of a little farm, where it is possible to grow medicinal plant in about 50 hectares (50,000 square meters). There is a company close to my farm interested in buyng Passiflora incarnata (dry leaves) -- American Passion Flower, Maypop. I learned that Richters sells P. incarnata seeds. Could you tell me about this plant? Production, usufruct, earth (soil or ground) qualification, temperature required, normal problems, sunny area, other considerations, etc.

The American herb expert, Steven Foster, has a page on his website on passion flower with some information on how to grow it. Please see: http://www.stevenfoster.com/education/monograph/pflower.html

We do not have a production monograph for this plant. For the most part it is still collected from the wild in the U.S. and there is relatively little in cultivation.

Here is some data from our internal herb database of information collected from numerous sources over the years:

Cold Hardiness: USDA zones 6-9

Heat Hardiness: zones 10-7

Height and Spread: up to 8 meters (it is a vine)

Sun Exposure: full sun or half shade

Soil: Well-drained, sandy, slightly acid (pH 6.5); fertile, well-drained, when in growth; moist.

Germination: 1-4 weeks

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