Passionfruit ‘Panama Gold’

Panama Gold Passionfruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa 'Panama Gold') is the golden skinned tropical passionfruit, and the one to plant when you want fruit quickly and a green fence at the same time. Given wires or a trellis it climbs to about 5m across roughly 3m of support, covering bare mesh in a single warm season, with large white and purple flowers followed by heavy golden fruit.

Why you'll love it

• Fruit and screening from one plant. It hides a fence while it crops, which is real value where every square metre does two jobs.
• It moves fast. A well fed vine covers several metres of wire in its first warm season and can crop in its first or second summer.
• Golden fruit with a sweeter edge. The yellow skinned form has larger fruit and more aromatic, less acidic pulp than the common purple types.
• Heat and humidity suit it. A wet Queensland summer is the season it enjoys most, and it takes coastal salt exposure as well.
• The flowers pull in bees and birds. Passionflowers are large and heavily worked by insects, so the vine is busy before fruit sets.

Where it works best

Screening a fence or trellis. Plant 2m apart along a fence line. Any closer and the vines tangle into a mat that is hard to prune and pick from.

Balconies and courtyards. One vine in a pot of 50 litres or more, trained on a frame, gives shade and fruit in a small footprint.

Feature planting. Run it over an arbour, where the flowers become the point of the structure rather than just cover for it.

Growing Panama Gold passionfruit in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun in a warm, sheltered, frost free spot. It is a tropical and subtropical plant that also crops well in warm temperate coastal gardens. Being frost tender, cooler southern and inland districts need a north facing wall, and a hard winter still knocks it about.

Soil. Free draining and enriched with compost. Passionfruit hate waterlogging, so mound the position on clay. Mulch 75mm deep and keep it off the stem, because collar rot is how most vines are lost.

Water and feed. Water deeply twice a week while establishing and through fruiting, since a dry spell causes wrinkled fruit and drop. Feed a complete citrus fertiliser in early spring, midsummer and early autumn. Nitrogen alone gives leaf and no crop.

Pruning. Train two or three leaders along the top wire and let laterals hang. Prune in early spring, cutting laterals back by a third to force the growth that carries flowers. These vines stay productive for roughly three to five years, so plan on replacing them.

What to expect when it arrives

This variety is grown and sold as tube stock, so your plant will be a young single vine, usually 15cm to 30cm tall. Tube stock is the sensible way to buy a fast climber: it establishes quickly and soon overtakes a larger plant that sulked after transplanting.

Plants are packed upright and delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Get it into warm soil with its support in place, and allow a fortnight before growth takes off. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Growing a successful fruit and vegetable garden
• Browse the full range of climbing plants
• More edible plants for the home garden
• Compare fruit trees for a backyard orchard

Common questions

How long until it fruits?

From tube stock, expect the first crop in the first or second summer, given heat, sun and steady feeding. Cool or shaded positions push that out and reduce the yield.

Do I need two plants for pollination?

One vine will set fruit and bees do most of the work. In a wet or still spell you can improve the set by moving pollen between open flowers with a soft brush.

Will it survive frost?

It is frost tender. A light frost burns the foliage and a hard one can kill the vine, so in cold districts plant it against a warm north facing wall.