Passionfruit plant trouble

sit1, Mar 6, 3:19am
Everytime I plant a passionfruit plant in mygarden it dies. I can grow everything else but not passionfruit it seems. My latest 2 plants have dropped their leaves and the stalks are dying back. What am I doing wrong!

redhead96, Mar 6, 3:34am
Waits for an answer also.

lythande1, Mar 6, 11:47am
What kind of soil did you plant it in!
How long before it dies!
How often do you water them! What have you fed them!
Are you planting in the same spot!
What is the spot - north facing! SOuth! East!

dibble35, Mar 6, 12:48pm
Passionfruit plants dont live very long anyway, used to be able to get 4-5 years out of a vine, but i'm now on my 3rd vine in 4 years. They seem to get lots of fungal problems and are susceptible to soil diseases, collar rot (think its called). When my first big vine started dying off 2 years ago I walked around the neighbourhood and every vine I saw had the same symptoms, leaves dropping, stalks dying back, dropping fruit before it was ripe properly so my conclusion was an airborne fungal problem. My advice, plant in sunny spot, that is well drained.(diff spot than last time obviously) Fertilise well as they are heavy feeders. Water well when it is fruiting. If you are going to prune it back use secateurs that you have sterilised 1st (wipe with meths) MAybe lookat spraying ifyou're into that. google passionfruit diseases. its a real eye opener what they can get

stevee6, Mar 6, 2:12pm
Have you mulched around the roots, and kept watering regularly! And is the ground free-draining! Also look at the base of the stem - is it smooth and green! I've had two plants killed by snails eating right around the stem in the past.

sit1, Mar 6, 5:33pm
i planted in a fresh spot , dug in a good spade full of compost first ( well actually I made Mr Sit do that bit) , watered it and waited. No snail muches around stalk, the die back starts at the leaves and then progress down the stem towards the roots! Soil is volcanic but i have mixed in 50% compost as I find it dries out pretty darn quick. Plantedone on North/west wall and other on North East wall, both have same issues. Another house in my street has the biggest lushest looking vine you have ever seen, Maybe I need to go knock on their door and ask what the secret is.

mottly, Mar 6, 5:35pm
I've always had the same prob. But last year I planted one on the fence, which faces nth/sth, full sun - and it's going nuts.I put pea straw and sheep pellets around the base of it, so everytime I water it, it gets a feed too. It's planted in a raised wooden square, so the roots don't stay too wet. Think it's just luck of the draw. Keep trying, one day it'll work out :)

oh_hunnihunni, Mar 6, 6:54pm
My non gardening neighbour planted one alongside our dividing trellis this past spring. Dug a hole in the lawn, plonked the thing in and watered it once or twice. It grew like a triffid, engulfing all in its path, swamping the trellis and heading north over the roof. Then it flowered, and seems every flower did its duty, fruit for Africa. I enjoyed the fruit it gave on my side very much - just as well, because every time I plant one of these the @#$%^&*( thing dies on me.

Gardening eh - it's a mystery sometimes!

stevee6, Mar 6, 7:35pm
Sheesh, your passionfruit plants should thanks their lucky stars for such luxury. Maybe they died of happiness!

rufus113, Mar 6, 8:35pm
You do'nt have a infestation of leaf hoppers by any chance!I have them on my vines & the damage they cause is as you describe.To check,disturb the vine by shaking it or spraying it with a hose.They are like a small butterfly with clear delta shaped wings

soph001, Mar 7, 12:41am
Mine is fabulous this year.
And I don't even like Passionfruit
:P

thea4, Mar 7, 2:13am
Passion fruit love cold tea and the tea leaves as well, I have had a non fruiting vine suddenly start producing when an oldie gardener suggested doing this

woollywoman, Apr 9, 6:59am
I had the same problem. Im onto my fourth one. My son peeing around it and worm wee seem to be working. Its growing slowly.Its planted on a west facing tin fence. Its growing with cape gooseberries and rhubarb.