Inducing Passionflower to bloom

[Tony]

Last spring my wife and I planted two passionflower. We got a lot of enjoyment from their blooms over the summer.

Over the winter the plants froze to the ground. We cut off all the dead growth--essentially taking the plant back down to ground level. We weren't sure what would come of that, but when it warmed up, the plants sprung to life. Both of the plants now are very healthy. They have grown to the top of an 8' fence and have spread to a width of about 10'. They seem very healthy. The problem: neither of them has bloomed (or put on any buds) this entire season.

What can I do to induce them to bloom? Is there something different I should have done with their care in the past or should do in the future?

I live just north of Pensacola, Florida.

Tony

[Lee]

Mine is in its second year and just started blooming 6/6/04. i took a pic of it and have it on line it is so pretty..non commercial web site. it may coe along ok with a little time. it, too, has grown phenominally! It has been really hot here in NE TX so heat may have something to do with it. and i put some composted cow pooh in the mulch. lee h

[Hal]

I have mine in half barrel pots and they like a lots of fertilizer, however, too much nitrogen may cause lots of leaves and no blooms though. Fertilizers are made up of N P and K. Grass likes hight (N) nitrogen, flowering plants like high (P) phosphates and everything needs a bit of (K) potash to use the other two. Check the label on the fertilizer you are using and see if the first number is higher than the second, like 27-10-5 that would be a good lawn fertilizer, but might cause lots of leaf growth and little blooms on flowering plants.

I found my first Gulf Fritillary larvae this morning and didn't even see the butterfly that laid the egg. It has been a bad year for butterflies in my back yard, but I'm hoping for improvement. Do you have Zebra longwings or Gulf Fritillary feeding on yours?

One year the larvae ate my passion flower (maypop) back to the ground and it didn't have enough energy stored in the roots to come back in the spring, so I have two now and feed them twice a months with

15-30-15 and sometimes as I pass with the granular (1-1-1 type) I throw on the beds I add a bit of that too and have yet to over fertilize, but I don't use high nitrogen fertilizer.

Regards,

Hal Zone 8 Middle Georgia