Passion Fruit 'Japanese Hardshell' developing fruit at LCG January 2025 (photo credit: Jacqui Lachmann)
Passion Fruit 'Japanese Hardshell'
Passiflora edulis
The variety of Passion Fruit grown at Lennox Community Gardens is the 'Japanese Hardshell'. True to its name, you'll need a hammer crack the shell and get to the sweet pulp inside.
There are more than 50 varieties of Passionfruit vine, which includes Banana, Yellow Giant, Panama Gold, Panama Red, and Nellie Kelly. The plant is botanically classified as a berry.
Eaten fresh, or added to salads or as a flavouring for desserts e.g. pavlovas or cheesecake.
Vine Maintenance
Pruning
Passiflora edulis
The variety of Passion Fruit grown at Lennox Community Gardens is the 'Japanese Hardshell'. True to its name, you'll need a hammer crack the shell and get to the sweet pulp inside.
There are more than 50 varieties of Passionfruit vine, which includes Banana, Yellow Giant, Panama Gold, Panama Red, and Nellie Kelly. The plant is botanically classified as a berry.
Eaten fresh, or added to salads or as a flavouring for desserts e.g. pavlovas or cheesecake.
Vine Maintenance
Pruning
- Cut back the vine by about a third in late winter.
- Spring (early): liquid seaweed, compost around drip line, poultry manure.
- Autumn: liquid seaweed, sulphate of potash.
- Avoid over-feeding or using fertilisers that are high in nitrogen, as this will encourage leaf growth at the expense of flowers and fruit.
- Mulch well to keep the soil moist (leave a gap around the base of the vine to avoid collar rot).
Passion Fruit flower at LCG (photo credit: Graham Bond)
Passion Fruit vine at LCG, February 2026 (photo credit: Jacqui Lachmann)
Passion Fruit vine at LCG March 2023 (photo credit: Graham Bond)
