Passionflower is a perennial medicinal herb, long valued for its traditional uses. It's hardy across USDA zones 5 through 9, stands up to deer and grows just as well in a container as in the ground. Its summer flowers are a real draw for native bees and butterflies.
Passionflower — the short answer
Passionflower: grown in zones 5–9, full sun, pH 5.5–7.5, about 180 days to maturity.
- USDA zones
- 5–9
- NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH
- 5.5–7.5
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Days to Maturity
- 180 days
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Frost-kill temp (growing season)
- -10°F
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Passionflower on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether passionflower actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score passionflower against your land's real conditions.
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What Passionflower is
Passionflower grows as a perennial and reaches around eight feet at maturity. It blooms purple in summer. It's also deer-resistant and well suited to containers.
How to grow Passionflower
Passionflower grows in USDA zones 5 through 9 and is ready to harvest about 180 days after planting. Passionflower does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5.5 to 7.5, on well-drained ground. It needs around 2,500 growing degree days to mature, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
5-9
NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Soil pH
5.5 - 7.5
Growable Ground Plant Database
Sun
Full Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost Kill Temperature
-10°F
Where cold starts killing growing tissue. Not a winter-survival floor — a dormant perennial takes far colder, which its hardiness zone answers.
Growable Ground Plant Database
Days to Maturity
180 days
Growable Ground plant catalog
GDD Required
2500+
Growing degree-days of accumulated warmth it needs to mature — humid summers reach this faster than cool coastal ones.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
8 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant passionflower in full sun with at least 6 hours of direct sun, once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed.
Match the soil
Passionflower prefers pH 5.5 to 7.5 (Growable Ground Plant Database). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Harvest at its peak
Harvest the part you grow passionflower for — flower, leaf, or root — at its seasonal peak.
Where Passionflower thrives
Passionflower is hardy across USDA zones 5 through 9. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 5–9 spans average winter lows from -20°F to 30°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 25 outright and splits 25 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 5–9·Where Passionflower growsOpen map →
This map is derived from the USDA ARS / PRISM Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) and is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Where Passionflower stands, state by state
Passionflower is rated for zones 5–9 — a cold floor USDA puts at -20 to -10°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 25 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 25 more, and 1 sits outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 5–9
25 states
3 of 25 shown
The line runs through
25 states
3 of 25 shown
Passionflower’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
Outside zones 5–9
1 state
- North Dakota · zones 3b-4b
Winter cold is the limit here — the same plant often works in a container that comes under cover. Each link is that state’s own growing hub.
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Passionflower
Growing guides for passionflower
Good to know
Passionflower is a standout pollinator plant — high value to bees and other pollinators. (Source: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.)
Before you harvest passionflower, know your soil
Anything you grow to eat takes up what's in the ground it grows in, so it's worth knowing what's documented near you before you plant passionflower for food. Our free screen reads 8 federal source types across roughly 1.8M indexed sites and shows which sit near your address and which way they drain. It's a screening estimate from public records and proximity — not a soil test — so a nearby record means a soil test is worth it, not that your soil is unsafe.
Your land is one point inside Passionflower's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Passionflower will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether passionflower actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources analyzed in seconds
How we know this about Passionflower
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Passionflower in my zone?
Passionflower grows in USDA hardiness zones 5 through 9 (NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
How long does Passionflower take to grow?
Passionflower is ready to harvest about 180 days after planting. Your local frost dates and soil temperature move that window earlier or later.
When should you plant Passionflower?
Most growers plant passionflower after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Passionflower need?
Passionflower needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.
What soil does Passionflower need?
Passionflower prefers soil pH 5.5 to 7.5, on well-drained ground (Growable Ground Plant Database). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Passionflower attract pollinators?
Yes — passionflower's flowers are a strong nectar and pollen source for native bees and butterflies. (Source: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.)
Keep exploring Passionflower
Passionflower state by state
Every state passionflower's zone reaches — 3 link straight to that state's passionflower growing page; the rest open the state's full growing guide.