Passiflora edulis (Passion Fruit) Plants - Outdoor GROW TROPICALS
Purple Passion Fruit

Passiflora edulis (Passion Fruit)

£17.99 £18.99 SAVE 5%
Overwinter under coverSun-lovingEvergreen
Pot size
15cm / 1.5L £17.99

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Description

Edible fruit. Sold here as a fruit-bearing plant grown for its harvest of purple passion fruit, not as an ornamental.

The Passiflora edulis, or purple passion fruit, is the true edible passion flower, a vigorous evergreen climber that delivers both the exotic, almost otherworldly blooms the genus is famous for and a crop of delicious purple fruit. This is the species behind the passion fruit on supermarket shelves, and growing your own passion fruit plant is one of the most rewarding ways to bring a taste of the tropics into a sheltered British garden, conservatory or sunny patio.

Each flower is a small masterpiece: a wheel of white petals surrounding a halo of crimped purple-and-blue filaments, with the prominent central column of stamens and styles that gives the passion flower its name. Where summers are long and warm, these blooms are followed by egg-sized fruits that ripen from green to a deep wrinkled purple, their fragrant pulp packed with golden, aromatic seeds.

How and where to grow

Passiflora edulis is a tender exotic, so position is everything. Give it the warmest, sunniest, most sheltered spot you can find, ideally scrambling up a south or west-facing wall, fence or trellis where its tendrils can grip. It enjoys fertile, moisture-retentive but free-draining soil and responds to generous watering and a high-potash feed through the growing season.

  • Vigorous tendril climber to around 4-6 m
  • Exotic white-and-purple flowers from summer into autumn
  • Edible purple fruit in a warm season
  • Ideal for a large patio container that can be moved under cover

Because it is hardy only to around 5C, the passiflora edulis in most of the UK is best treated as a patio plant: stood outside in full sun for summer, then brought into a frost-free greenhouse, conservatory or bright porch before the first frosts. Only in the very mildest, frost-free coastal gardens will it survive outdoors year-round. Container growing also keeps this naturally rampant climber within bounds and makes the all-important winter protection straightforward.

Whether you are after the spectacular flowers or dreaming of home-grown fruit, this passion flower is a wonderful talking-point plant. Every Passiflora edulis we supply is a strong, well-rooted specimen, carefully grown and ready to climb away in its first warm season with you.

Live Arrival Guarantee

All plants are covered by our 7-day live arrival guarantee. We pack every order in protective, sustainable packaging designed to keep your plants safe in transit, and every plant is checked before it ships. On the rare occasion something is not right on arrival, we will make it good, provided the plant is still in its original nursery pot.

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What to Expect

Seasonal by nature: what to expect

  • Grown outdoors, the way nature intended. Weather-tested and hardened in real UK conditions, so they thrive in your garden. A few marks on the older leaves are normal, the sign of a tough, real plant rather than a flaw.
  • It follows the seasons. Depending on when you order, your plant may arrive cut back, dormant or leafless. That's healthy: dormancy is the ideal time to plant.
  • Posted, not posed. Big leafy plants like bananas and gingers may be trimmed or gently folded to travel safely. It does the plant no harm, and it powers away again in spring.

Not sure what to expect from yours? Dormant, cut-back or weather-marked plants are all perfectly healthy and normal. Read what to expect through the seasons

Delivery & returns

Order by 1pm Monday to Friday for same day dispatch. Every plant travels in protective, plant-safe packaging with tracked delivery.

Changed your mind? See our Return Policy.

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How to care for Purple Passion Fruit

Plant me in full sun and bring me under cover before the frosts.

In their words

What our customers say

Arrived just like the photos - maybe even fuller. Healthy, well-acclimated, and straight into my collection with no issues.

Emily P.

Flawless leaves, stunning variegation, and clearly cared for by experts. It’s already a talking point in my home office.

James R.

Hard to find rare plants that are pet-safe. Ours arrived in perfect condition and looks amazing without any worry.

Sophie L.
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About Purple Passion Fruit

Passiflora edulis (Passion Fruit) needs full sun and moist but well-drained soil. It is frost tender and must come under cover for winter.

Good for

Screening & Privacy Walls & Fences

Hardiness

TenderVery hardy

Tender (H2): down to around 1°C. Tolerates cool conditions but not frost; protect or bring in over winter.

Tender (RHS H2), hardy only to around 5C and damaged by frost. In most of the UK grow it in a large pot that can be moved into a frost-free greenhouse, conservatory or bright porch over winter; outdoors in the open ground it is reliable only in the very mildest, frost-free coastal gardens. Read moreShow less

Tender (RHS H2), hardy only to around 5C and damaged by frost. In most of the UK grow it in a large pot that can be moved into a frost-free greenhouse, conservatory or bright porch over winter; outdoors in the open ground it is reliable only in the very mildest, frost-free coastal gardens.

Position

Full sunSouth-facingWest-facingSheltered
Give it the warmest, sunniest, most sheltered spot you have, ideally a south or west-facing wall, fence or trellis. Full sun and warmth are what ripen the flowers into fruit. Read moreShow less

Give it the warmest, sunniest, most sheltered spot you have, ideally a south or west-facing wall, fence or trellis. Full sun and warmth are what ripen the flowers into fruit.

Soil

ChalkLoamSandMoist but well-drainedAcid pHAlkaline pHNeutral pH
Plant into fertile, moisture-retentive but free-draining soil or a quality loam-based compost. It tolerates most soil pH but resents cold, wet, waterlogged roots over winter. Read moreShow less

Plant into fertile, moisture-retentive but free-draining soil or a quality loam-based compost. It tolerates most soil pH but resents cold, wet, waterlogged roots over winter.

Watering

Water freely through spring and summer while in active growth and feed every couple of weeks with a high-potash tomato feed to encourage flowering and fruiting. Keep much drier over winter and never let pots sit in standing water. Read moreShow less

Water freely through spring and summer while in active growth and feed every couple of weeks with a high-potash tomato feed to encourage flowering and fruiting. Keep much drier over winter and never let pots sit in standing water.

Mature size

Height4-6 m
Spread1.5-3 m

Reaches full size in 2-5 years

Growth habit

Climbing

Flowering

Jun-Sep · White

Seasonal colour

Foliage

Evergreen (stays evergreen only when kept frost-free over winter)

Scent

Lightly fragrant flowers

Pruning

Thin and shorten crowded stems in spring to keep it in bounds; flowers and fruit form on the current season's new growth.

Toxicity

Ripe fruit is edible; unripe fruit, leaves and stems contain cyanogenic compounds and should not be eaten

Native range

S Brazil to N Argentina

Family

Passifloraceae

Also known as

Passiflora edulis (Passion Fruit)

Genus

Passiflora
Good to know

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Passiflora edulis hardy in the UK?

No, it is a tender exotic rated RHS H2 and only hardy to around 5C, so it is damaged or killed by frost. In all but the mildest frost-free coastal gardens it is best grown in a pot and overwintered under cover in a frost-free greenhouse, conservatory or bright porch.

Will it actually produce passion fruit outdoors in Britain?

It can, but only in a long, warm summer and a very sheltered, sunny spot. Fruiting is far more reliable when the plant is grown in a large pot or under glass where you can guarantee warmth, so treat any outdoor crop as a welcome bonus.

How big does it grow and how fast?

It is a vigorous tendril climber that can reach 4-6 m where happy, romping up a trellis, wall or obelisk in a single season. In a pot it stays more compact and is easily kept in check with pruning.

Can I grow it in a container on a patio?

Yes, container growing is the ideal method in the UK. A large pot with a cane wigwam or small trellis lets you stand it out in full sun for summer and wheel it into a frost-free space for winter.

Is the fruit safe to eat?

The ripe purple fruit is delicious and perfectly safe. The leaves, stems and unripe green fruit contain cyanogenic compounds and should not be eaten, so wait until the fruits are fully coloured and wrinkling before harvesting.

Does my plant come with a pot?
Your plant will arrive in its nursery grow pot — the plastic pot it's been growing in. We don't include a decorative pot as standard, and there's a good reason for that: it means you get to choose one that fits your space and style, rather than being stuck with something that doesn't suit your home.

It also means you're not paying extra for a pot you might not want. The nursery pot is perfectly fine to keep your plant in for a while, just pop it inside a decorative cover pot or cache pot and you're good to go. When you're ready to repot (usually after a growing season or when roots start poking out the bottom), you can move it into something more permanent with fresh soil.

If you're not sure what size cover pot to go for, check the pot selector tool listed above, you'll want a decorative pot that's a centimetre or two wider than that to give it a comfortable fit.
How big will my plant be when it arrives?
Every plant on our site includes the pot size (e.g. 12cm) and, where possible, an approximate height. That's the most reliable way to set your expectations, photos can sometimes make a plant look larger or smaller than it really is.

If you're thinking "that sounds quite small for the price," here's something worth knowing: younger, smaller plants almost always adapt better to your home than larger ones. They adjust faster to your light and humidity, put out new growth more quickly, and tend to establish stronger root systems long-term. A plant that grows into your space will usually outperform one that was already big when it arrived.

That said, every plant is an individual. The one you receive may vary slightly in height, shape, or fullness compared to the photo, that's the nature of living things, not a quality issue. We select healthy, well-established specimens, and if you ever feel your plant doesn't match what you were expecting, just get in touch and we'll take a look.
What makes your plants different from the supermarket or garden centre?
There's a big difference between a plant that's been sitting under on a retail shelf and one that's been looked after and cared for by people who specialise in exactly this.

Our plants are grown in house or sourced from specialist nurseries, many of them varieties you simply won't find at your local garden centre or supermarket. Before anything leaves us, it's checked over by our horticultural team to make sure it's healthy, well-rooted, and ready to thrive in your home. We're not shifting volume off a pallet, we're choosing plants we'd want to keep ourselves.

When you buy from a supermarket, you get a plant and a generic care label. When you buy from us, you get the knowledge that comes with it, detailed care guidance, a team you can actually contact if something isn't going right, and the confidence that what's arriving has been looked after properly from the moment it was grown to the moment it reaches your door.

We're a specialist nursery first, not a retailer that happens to sell plants. That's the difference, and you'll see it the moment you open the box.
What should I do when my plant arrives?
First things first, unbox it as soon as you can. Plants don't love being in dark boxes any more than you would, and the sooner yours is out and breathing, the better.

Remove all the packaging carefully, give the soil a check with your finger, and water lightly if it feels dry. Then find it a spot with appropriate light, but avoid putting it straight into harsh direct sun or next to a radiator. Think of it like arriving somewhere new after a long journey: it needs a moment to adjust.

It's completely normal for your plant to look a little tired or droopy after transit. This is called transit stress, and most plants bounce back within a week or two. You might see a yellow leaf or some drooping, don't panic, and resist the urge to overwater or start repotting straight away.

Our advice for the first couple of weeks: leave it in its nursery pot, water it only when the top layer of soil feels dry, and let it acclimatise to your home's light, temperature, and humidity. Once it's settled in and showing signs of new growth, you can think about repotting or moving it to its permanent spot.

Every plant we sell comes with a care guide on the product page so you'll know exactly what it needs going forward. And if anything doesn't look right, get in touch with our team, we're always happy to help.
Will my plant survive being shipped?
Yes! and we go to serious lengths to make sure of it. Every plant is hand-packed by our team with protective wrapping and secure, custom-designed boxes to keep it stable and safe in transit. We've shipped hundreds of thousands of plants across the UK and our packaging methods have been refined over years to handle the bumps and jolts of delivery.

During colder months, we monitor weather forecasts and offer heat packs where needed to protect against frost. In extreme conditions, we may hold your order for a day or two rather than risk sending it out, we'd rather you wait an extra day than receive a stressed plant.

That said, plants are living things, and the occasional transit wobble can happen. If your plant arrives damaged or isn't in the condition you'd expect, just get in touch within 48 hours with a photo, and we'll make it right, whether that's a replacement or a full refund. No fuss.

The short version: we treat every box like it's going to someone who really cares about what's inside, because it is.
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Packaged with Care

Every order is hand-packed in eco-friendly, protective packaging - refined through thousands of deliveries to ensure your plant arrives healthy, hydrated, and looking its best.

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Perfect for Gifting

Perfect for Gifting

From rare collector’s pieces to easy-care favourites, our plants arrive fully potted and ready to enjoy. Add a personalised note at checkout for a thoughtful finishing touch.

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Sustainability at Heart

Sustainability at Heart

All plants are ethically sourced from trusted growers, never wild-collected. Every order ships carbon-neutral in minimal-waste packaging.

Good for your home - and the planet.

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Passiflora edulis (Passion Fruit)
£17.99 £18.99