PASSION FRUIT

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1028, 19 July 1930, Page 30

PASSION FRUIT

Many gardeners seem to have trouble with their passion fruit. They complain that the plants drop their fruit and produce a poor crop. Nearly every time this happens it is the fault of the gardener, and not of the plant. We are referring to the proper passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) and not to the banana passion fruit, which is not a true passion fruit, but a Tacsonia.

The passion fruit will soon be flowering freely, and the plants should now be given a little sulphate of ammonia or blood manure, which should be put on at the rate of about 4oz to each plant. It is absolutely necessary that the ground around the plant should be kept

continually moist and cool. The young plants form very quickly after the flowers drop, and if the plant is allowed to become dry they shrivel and fall off.

Any signs of the fruit shrivelling means that the plant is dry at the roots. Sometimes a plant in stiff soil hesitates to grow, but if a shovelful or so of sand is placed around it and forked in, the plant usually makes quick growth.

The passiou fruit likes a light, sandy soil and plenty of manure.

When it is planted in heavy soil plenty of sand and manure should be mixed with the soil in the hole that taken out.

The best position is facing north or east against a fence or wall where the plant is sheltered a little from draught and strong winds. They d"> far better in such a position than they do when grown on a trellis right in the open.