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Gardening in the hot desert can be tough. I have been growing a rare and endangered native Arizonan passion fruit plant for the last few years.
In the summer, the plant puts out beautiful flowers, but only in the early hours of the morning, they are fully closed back up before noon. Here is today's flower, taken around 0730.
Unlike the passion fruit you get in the stores (passiflora Frederick), this one is self pollinating, I have been getting some very nice tasty fruit from it. But, when the fruit is ripe, it drops to the ground, and I have to get to it before my dog does, she loves the fruit.
The other great thing about this plant is that it grows rapidly as a vine, is very heat resistant, and it attracts butterflies all season. Pretty much every day there are monarchs out flitting around the plant, laying eggs on the leaves. When the plant is small, you have to pick off the eggs, or the caterpillars will decimate and kill the plant in a matter of days. But, now the plant is hardy, so there are dozens of caterpillars and chrysalis all over the place.
Only drawback is that they can just mysteriously die on you, they only live a few years. I was able to get some seeds from a fruit and I have and I got a lot of seedlings started, first one popped up today, I also have several cuttings rooting in jars of water. I need to replace the two dead plants I have to keep the plant going. Also providing some cuttings to friends, and to a local community garden.
In the summer, the plant puts out beautiful flowers, but only in the early hours of the morning, they are fully closed back up before noon. Here is today's flower, taken around 0730.
Unlike the passion fruit you get in the stores (passiflora Frederick), this one is self pollinating, I have been getting some very nice tasty fruit from it. But, when the fruit is ripe, it drops to the ground, and I have to get to it before my dog does, she loves the fruit.
The other great thing about this plant is that it grows rapidly as a vine, is very heat resistant, and it attracts butterflies all season. Pretty much every day there are monarchs out flitting around the plant, laying eggs on the leaves. When the plant is small, you have to pick off the eggs, or the caterpillars will decimate and kill the plant in a matter of days. But, now the plant is hardy, so there are dozens of caterpillars and chrysalis all over the place.
Only drawback is that they can just mysteriously die on you, they only live a few years. I was able to get some seeds from a fruit and I have and I got a lot of seedlings started, first one popped up today, I also have several cuttings rooting in jars of water. I need to replace the two dead plants I have to keep the plant going. Also providing some cuttings to friends, and to a local community garden.
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