Passiflora Adularia | The Italian Collection of Maurizio Vecchia

DESCRIPTION:

It is a hybrid with delicate colours, as the intense yellow of the P. citrina flowers has mitigated the bright pink of those of P. sanguinolenta. The result is a cream colour slightly veiled with very light pink, which becomes more vivid in the centre of the corolla: a truly unique shade.

The name refers to a mineral, a variety of orthoclase also called 'Moonstone' due to its light colour.

This plant has excellent decorative qualities thanks to the generosity of its blooms which are incessant from March to November, its compact posture and the dense foliage.

The leaves are bilobed, with pointed lobes, spread apart, marked by a yellow-green variegation, placed along the lateral veins.

The flowers are more open than those of P. citrina, although they do not have slender petals and sepals like those of P. sanguinolenta. They are instead full-bodied and robust and have a starred shape. The crown is formed by a series of peach-coloured filaments at the apex and pink at the base. It can produce ellipsoidal fruits, dark pink when ripe, characterised by six longitudinal nervations.

The dimensions of the leaves are: length 2.5-4 cm, width 7.5-13 cm. The average diameter of the flowers is 5 cm.

P. ' Adularia' has good resistance to cold, certainly superior to that of the parents. In fact, this temperature is around 2°C, which allows it to be cultivated in open ground in the gardens of the Ligurian coast and in many coastal towns in southern Italy.

It is also an excellent houseplant, which can be appreciated by using it as a hanging plant.

Its cultivation is simple and use of a good universal soil, rich and well drained, will facilitate the growth of robust and very floriferous specimens.

The cuttings root quickly.