Illustration
Purple Passionflower
Passiflora incarnata
Also called maypop and apricot vine
Purple Passionflower blooms from July through September.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Purple Passionflower
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 5–9. Expect it to reach about 7 ft tall and 4.5 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 3 years (a house reading).
Is Purple Passionflower toxic to dogs or cats?
- Listed as toxic to dogs and cats by NC State Extension.
- Listed as poisonous to people by NC State Extension.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Purple Passionflower
Plant Purple Passionflower in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 7, the middle of its hardy zones 5 to 9, spring means March to May and fall means September or October. Once settled, it blooms from July to September.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 7, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 7 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Purple Passionflower get?
7 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult4.5 ftwideSee Purple Passionflower in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Purple Passionflower
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Purple Passionflower about 4.5 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Purple Passionflower to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Purple Passionflower's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 10 published sources on October 25, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- NC State Extensionhardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Prairie Moon Nurseryheight, hardiness zones, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Missouri Department of Conservationheight, spread, bloom months and color and trait tags
- blogs.cornell.eduCornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk Countyhardiness zones, bloom months and color and trait tags
- University of Illinois ExtensionIllinois Extensionhardiness zones, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Chicago Botanic Gardenhardiness zones and bloom months and color
- University of Illinois ExtensionIllinois Extensionsun
- University of Wisconsin HorticultureUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Extensionhardiness zones
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
Native to 20 states
United States: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and 8 more
Recorded growing wild in 625 counties.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
Good to know about Purple Passionflower
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Safety
Leaves, stems and unripe fruit hold cyanogenic glycosides, a medium-severity poison; eating them can cause nausea, vomiting, drowsiness and irregular heartbeat. Ripe fruit is safe. per NC State
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.