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tjsangel

Purple passion plant

tjsangel
17 years ago

Hi,

My mom picked this plant out as part of her birthday gift today. All we know about it is that it's pretty! Any special care requirements from anyone who grows it? Thanks so much,

Jen

Comments (10)

  • ines_99
    17 years ago

    bright indirect light, pinch back to keep bushy or it will get leggy and skimpy and watch for mealy bugs

  • greattigerdane
    17 years ago

    Purple Passion Vine (Gynura aurantiaca)

    This one does not like to dry out completely, the leaves will go limp and they can develop brown crispy edges. They do best being semi moist.
    The better the light, the better the purple color will be.
    A little bit of morning, or late afternoon sun is ok, the rest of the time, bright indirect.
    Most people pinch off the orange flowers when they come, they don't have a very nice scent.

    Billy Rae

  • birdsnblooms
    17 years ago

    Also, if you prune the PP so it doesn't becmome leggy, start cuttings in water..they root easily enough.
    You can either add w/mom plant or start a new one.

    Billy I've heard many ppl complain about the smell of PP's flowers, but when I worked at Rentokil, we got a bunch in w/flowers..I couldn't smell anything and I have a great sniffer. During the phase of flowers, when is the odor most evident? Toni

  • greattigerdane
    17 years ago

    Toni,

    I had this plant long ago, not sure what happened to it, (just got another one about a month ago) I had heard about the stinky flowers with the first plant, but I wanted to see for myself and let them grow, so I let them open, and yep, they smelled like dirty socks, lol.
    After the first flowering, I picked off any new buds before they had a chance to open, seemed cruel somehow, lol.
    I'm not sure what insect, or insects pollinate the flowers, flies maybe???
    Maybe once the flowers have been pollinated by whatever insect, the flowers lose their scent, because after pollination, the smell that attracted the insects in the first place, is no longer needed??? Just a guess...

    Billy Rae

  • tjsangel
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thanks everyone! It is a very nice plant. My mom put it in a bright window in a beautiful ceramic basket. I dont think she cares about flowers on it, I'm sure she doesnt want the dirty sock smell! Yuck.

    Jen

  • birdsnblooms
    17 years ago

    Billy, lol..dirty socks. Can you imagine a field of these plants in bloom? Yuck. Of what I remember, their flowers were nothing to get excited about, though it is nice when plants bloom, even if they stink.
    Guess it's like the Starfish cactus..what do they call it? Carrion flowers?? Supposed to smell like rotten meat, but the flowers are very pretty.
    I've talked to people who hate the smell of all flowers, including Jasmine or citrus. My father hated the scent of flowers..before he passed away, he said he didn't want flowers at his wake. My mother had this printed in the ob, but people still bought flowers..
    Jen, don't forget to pinch first two leaves occassionally..you don't want it growing spindly. My PP was bought at the grocery store when they had a 2.00 plant sale..I bought that among some others..the thing is it only has one long stem..I'm thinking of taking cuttings, rooting then adding w/mom. but I'll wait until next spring before attempting this..it takes forever to get plants to root this time of year..Good luck w/your PP..Toni

  • jean-irene
    16 years ago

    My dog ate/chewed up some of the leaves and then threw them up all over the livingroom floor.
    He is eating & driking OK. Is there any follow up I need to do other than to put the plantoutside and out of his reach?

  • nandina
    16 years ago

    Jean-irene,
    I just Googled "purple passion plant + dog eating". You should do the same. It appears that the PPP is not poisonous but can cause different reactions when an animal eats it. Found lots of detailed information on poisonous plants in my research. You should find it of great interest.

  • jharvey1965
    15 years ago

    My mother-in-law gave me a "pinched" off portion of her purple passion that she put in water to start the roots then planted the plant for me. Now my plant is getting bigger and I need to "pinch" some off to start for another pot but what does it mean to "pinch"? Anyone?

  • maggieahrens_gmail_com
    15 years ago

    You'll want to take the top 1/3rd of the plant off - with these plants (I have cuttings that go back almost 20 years!)

    All you need to do is take the last set of leaves off at the bottom and stick the pinched off bit in water and they'll make roots.

    These are seriously the easiest plants I have ever had - they're easy to take care of, they're dead easy to propagate, and the kids like them because "they feel like kittens"

    Kittens from Mars, maybe... but still

    pretty little plants, easy to take care of, and they make great gifts

    Here is a link that might be useful: what pinching off means

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