# Maypop (Passiflora incarnata)

> The hardiest native passionflower, a vine with fringed lavender flowers all summer and egg-sized fruits that pop when you step on them.

Family: Passifloraceae (passion-flower family). Also called purple passionflower, wild passionflower, apricot vine, passion vine, old field apricot. Category: Nut & Fruit Trees. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/maypop/

![Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) flower with white petals under a fringed purple and white crown](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/maypop-h1610-800.jpg)
*Photo: Judy Gallagher, CC BY 2.0, cropped · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APassionflower_-_Passiflora_incarnata%2C_Jones_Preserve%2C_Washington%2C_Virginia.jpg)*

## Facts

- Type: Shrub
- Mature height: 6 to 25 ft
- USDA hardiness zones: 5 to 10
- Grows wild in: Dry uplands, sandy barrens, stream banks, old fields and edges
- Native range: 21 states and [the District of Columbia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DC), north to [Pennsylvania](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=PA), south to [Florida](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=FL) and west to [Texas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TX) ([Alabama](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AL), [Arkansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AR), [Florida](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=FL), [Georgia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=GA), [Illinois](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IL), [Indiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IN), [Kansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KS), [Kentucky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KY), [Louisiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=LA), [Mississippi](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MS), [Missouri](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MO), [New Jersey](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NJ), [North Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NC), [Ohio](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OH), [Oklahoma](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OK), [Pennsylvania](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=PA), [South Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SC), [Tennessee](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TN), [Texas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TX), [Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VA), [West Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WV) and [the District of Columbia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DC)). Also recorded, not native, in [Delaware](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DE) and [Maryland](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MD)
- Sun: Full, Part
- Soil moisture: Average, Dry
- Growth rate: Fast
- Flowers: May to September
- Fruit: Fleshy fruit, July to October
- First crop: 1 year (after planting)
- Mature spread: 6 ft
- Traits: Showy flowers, Edible, Wildlife value, Drought tolerant, Bears young
- Sold as: Saplings, Seed

Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them.

## Availability

Saplings ship [bare-root](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/planting-bare-root-trees-on-arrival/index.html.md) or [in a pot](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/a-sapling-in-a-pot/index.html.md), [usually 12 to 18 inches tall](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/small-sapling-or-big-transplant/index.html.md), in the dormant season, and their [height and age](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/reading-a-nursery-listing/index.html.md) are stated with the price, once available. Live plants ship February to May and October to November. Not priced yet: leave an email on the web page for one email when it is priced, with a code for 10% off the plants in that order, not shipping or tax, or write to captain@bluewhaletrees.com.

## Notes

Maypop is the hardiest of the passionflowers, a native vine of the Southeast that climbs by tendrils or sprawls over the ground. Its fruits pop loudly when crushed, which gave it its name, and in 1612 Captain John Smith reported Native Americans in Virginia planting the vines for their fruit. It spreads by root suckers into patches, and its stems die to the ground each winter, except in mild climates, and grow back from the roots. Ohio lists it as threatened, at the northern edge of its range. Train it on a fence, trellis or arbor in sun, where its suckers can be pulled or mowed.

## Size, growth and what to expect

Maypop grows fast, and its vines reach 6 to 25 feet long. One vine spreads 3 to 6 feet, and its root suckers carry it well beyond that. In a New York trial, first-season vines flowered all summer, and fruit set before mid-August ripened in 52 to 113 days.

The flowers, about 3 inches across, open from May into September, white or pale lavender under a fringe of purple and white filaments. Carpenter bees carry the pollen. The fruits, the size of a hen's egg, ripen yellowish from July into October, and the pulp around the seeds is eaten fresh or made into jelly. Its leaves feed Gulf fritillary, variegated fritillary and zebra longwing caterpillars, and songbirds and small mammals eat the fruit.

It grows wild across the Southeast, north to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and Kansas and west to Oklahoma and Texas. Its home is old fields, fence rows, thickets, roadsides and open woods, often on poor soil. In Delaware and Maryland it is considered introduced.

## How to grow Maypop

Maypop flowers and fruits best in full sun, with at least half a day of direct sun, and it grows in part shade. It takes average, well-drained soil, sandy or clay, and once rooted it rides out drought. Wet, poorly drained ground rots its roots in winter. Give it a fence, trellis or arbor to climb, and set its support 3 feet from a wall. Near the north end of its range, a spot sheltered by a wall or building helps it through hard winters. Set vines 12 feet apart. It burns readily, so where wildfire is a risk keep it out of the planting zone next to a house. Keep it 15 feet from overhead wires, since it can climb past 20 feet.

Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the stems. Wash the seed clean of its pulp, since washed seed sprouts best. Sow it outdoors in late spring, once the soil is warm, and cover it, since light holds it back. It sprouts slowly and unevenly, often at low rates.

Water it every day for the first two weeks after planting, then every two to three days until week 12. After that, water weekly through the first two summers in dry spells. A loose mulch keeps the roots cool. For a bushier vine, pinch the shoots back in its first summer. Pull the root suckers that come up beyond its spot, or it spreads well past its support.

Each flower carries both male and female parts, but a vine sets no fruit with its own pollen, and its suckers are the same plant. Plant two or more seedlings from different parents for fruit. The fruit is ripe two to three months after the flower opens, when it turns soft and yellowish and the seeds inside are brown. It has no serious pests or diseases, though phlox plant bugs and barnacle scale sometimes turn up, and deer browse it only moderately. The leaves and stems are poisonous if eaten.

## Sources

- [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Passiflora incarnata](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/passiflora-incarnata/)
- [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Passiflora incarnata](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PAIN6)
- [Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder: Passiflora incarnata](https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=284891&isprofile=0)
- [USDA NRCS Plant Guide: Purple passionflower, Passiflora incarnata, Immel 2001](https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_pain6.pdf)
- [USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet: Purple passionflower, Booneville Plant Materials Center, 2008](https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/factsheet/pdf/fs_pain6.pdf)
- [Flora of North America, vol. 6: Passiflora incarnata, Goldman and MacDougal](http://floranorthamerica.org/Passiflora_incarnata)
- [Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Passiflora incarnata](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:675096-1)
- [Dai and Galloway 2010, Do dichogamy and herkogamy reduce sexual interference in a self-incompatible species?, Functional Ecology 24](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2435.2010.01795.x)
- [Stafne 2022, Controlled Pollination to Assess Intraspecific Compatibility Among Passiflora incarnata Genotypes from Different Provenances, HortScience 57(8): 919](https://doi.org/10.21273/hortsci16658-22)
- [McGuire 1998, Field Performance and Phenotypic Variation of Passiflora incarnata L. in New York State, HortScience 33(2): 240](https://doi.org/10.21273/hortsci.33.2.0240)
- [Wehtje, Reed and Dute 1985, Reproductive Biology and Herbicidal Sensitivity of Maypop Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata), Weed Science 33](https://doi.org/10.1017/s0043174500082709)
- [Zucareli, Henrique and Ono 2015, Influence of light and temperature on the germination of Passiflora incarnata L. seeds, Journal of Seed Science 37(2)](https://doi.org/10.1590/2317-1545v37n2147082)
- [Angelini, Clemente and Tavarini 2021, Pre-Germination Treatments, Temperature, and Light Conditions Improved Seed Germination of Passiflora incarnata L., Agriculture 11(10): 937](https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11100937)
- [NatureServe Explorer: Passiflora incarnata](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.154895/Passiflora_incarnata)
- [Ohio Department of Natural Resources: Rare Native Ohio Plants, 2024-25 Status List](https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/odnr/natural-areas/2024-25_Ohio_Rare_Native_Plants_Status_List_FINAL_draft.pdf)

## Read before planting

- [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md)
- [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md)
- [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md)
- [Growing native vines: how each one climbs and what support it needs](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/growing-native-vines/index.html.md)
- [The habitat around a tree is part of the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/habitat-around-a-tree/index.html.md)
- [What a young tree looks like: first-year seedlings of oak, walnut, hickory, chestnut, maple and redbud, and the weed trees to pull](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/what-a-young-tree-looks-like/index.html.md)

## Related

- Plants that share its sun and soil: [Shrubby St. John's-wort](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/shrubby-st-johns-wort/index.html.md), [Maleberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/maleberry/index.html.md), [Hillside Blueberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/hillside-blueberry/index.html.md) and [Coral Bean](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/coral-bean/index.html.md)
- Trees to plant it under: [Sassafras](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sassafras/index.html.md), [Slippery Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/slippery-elm/index.html.md) and [Common Hackberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/common-hackberry/index.html.md)
- Same size, similar character: [Prairie Willow](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/prairie-willow/index.html.md), [Roundleaf Serviceberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/roundleaf-serviceberry/index.html.md), [Leadplant](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/leadplant/index.html.md) and [Chapman's Rhododendron](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/chapman-rhododendron/index.html.md)
- [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Maypop, add ?species=maypop with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address; for example, the verdict for zone 5, part sun and average soil as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=maypop&zone=5&sun=part&moisture=average
- [Companion species for Maypop](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=maypop): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard.
- [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Maypop is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan for it as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=maypop (add state= and zone= for your own frost dates, method=fridge for the refrigerator route)
- [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Maypop needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the verdict for 2 of them as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=maypop:2
- [Planting-window tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md): when to plant Maypop where you live, as a fall and a spring window from the local frost dates; the windows as Markdown are at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=maypop&state=MO&zone=6 with your own state and zone in place of those
- [Planting-distance tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md): how far Maypop goes from a house, a septic field, a walk, wires, a property line and the next tree; the distances as Markdown are at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=maypop&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree
- [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Maypop flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species; its own row and the gaps of a planting with it as Markdown at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=maypop