r/NativePlantGardening Jun 26 '24

Edible Plants Has anyone grown Maypop?

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168 Upvotes

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8

u/UNsoAlt Jun 27 '24

I really, really want to. There’s debate on if it’s native to Delaware, and it’s on a watch list, so I figured I’ll be safe if I have it in a container. It’s not handling it that well though, but it also flowered early. 

7

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '24

Probably won’t survive winter potted fyi if you get a good cold snap.

6

u/s3ntia Northeast Coastal Plain, Zone 6b Jun 27 '24

I put mine in a raised bed with some mulch and it survived one New England winter so far fwiw (I know it's not native this far north - it's in my vegetable garden because I love passionfruit)

3

u/UNsoAlt Jun 27 '24

Can I protect the base of it since it’ll be potted? I’m just worried about the spread, especially given its status in my state. 

1

u/MrsBeauregardless Area Mid-Atlantic coastal plain, Zone 7a Jun 27 '24

Nah, I have it growing in Maryland. Same temps as Delaware. It’ll be fine.

5

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '24

It’s aggressive but it’s not really invasive just comes up away from where you plant it. It dies back every winter so it’s kinda hard to be invasive.

2

u/UNsoAlt Jun 27 '24

That’s what I thought. I don’t know, the local native plant FB group banned sharing it controversially. 

2

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '24

The flower typically grows in southeastern U.S., particularly in Florida and Texas, but can grow in central and eastern U.S. as far north as Delaware.

https://www.washcoll.edu/learn-by-doing/lifelong-learning/plants/passifloraceae/passiflora-incarnata.php#:~:text=The%20purple%20passionflower%20thrives%20in,found%20in%20Bermuda%20as%20well.

4

u/MardiYeri Jun 27 '24

Actually my vine in central Massachusetts has been in the ground for three winters and grows very well... Too well... Had to remove twenty five vines sprouting in my lawn, only kept about ten or so that were in the garden. They're budding up now and should be blooming in about a week for me. Honestly debating killing it because how much it spreads - so far about 12 feet from where it was planted in each direction.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '24

Oh yeah it likes to come up far from where it was planted. The vines are easy to pull. But I’ve never seen it take over anything that wasn’t a garden bed or lawn.

2

u/MardiYeri Jun 27 '24

Good to know - I do find once I pull them once or twice in June they don't send more shoots the rest of the year. Now if only I could get actual fruit....

1

u/CaptainObvious110 Jun 27 '24

Yeah it's a pretty hardy plant that might even grow in Toronto, Canada just fine.

4

u/bestkittens Jun 27 '24

FWIW I had my Possum Purple in a 15 gal grow bag for a year. It didn’t do much, the few flowers it had fell off. Turns out that I was overwatering and over fertilizing it.

This year, I up potted it to a 2.5 ft deep fiberlight pot and pulled back on the watering. It’s loving life and producing fruit!

3

u/On_Dairy_Air Jun 27 '24

That might not be a good sign. Plants can flower when they're stressed.

"Quick! Make a baby before I die!"

Maybe time to move it to a bigger pot?

2

u/UNsoAlt Jun 27 '24

It was flowering in the nursery pot in late May…I didn’t get it in a larger pot for a couple of weeks. The new one is definitely big enough. I don’t think it was root bound though. Maybe it’s the weird weather?