Passiflora x violacea 'Victoria'

Passiflora x violacea is a hybrid between Passiflora caerulea and Passiflora racemosa and is the oldest historical Passiflora hybrid. It was first described under this name in 1824 by the French botanist Jean-Louis-Auguste Loiseleur-Deslongchamps in the "Herbier General de l'Amateur," a botanical periodical he edited with Mordant de Launay. A very beautiful botanical illustration by Pancrace Bessa accompanied the description and served as the holotype. Loiseleur-Deslongchamps did not know the origin of the plant and had first seen it in the greenhouse of Louis Claude Noisette, the famous botanist and gardener who was responsible for introducing many rare and unusual plants into France. Noisette had acquired the plant from England three or four years previously. In fact the plant had already been described by Joseph Sabine in 1822. Reading before the RHS, of which he was the Honorary Secretary, Sabine described it as Passiflora caeruleo-racemosa, an epithet that was subsequently rejected under the rules of nomenclature as a formula rather than a name. The plant had been hybridised by Thomas Milne of the Fulham nursery, Whitley, Brames and Milne using pollen from Passiflora caerulea to pollinate Passiflora racemosa. The 30 flowers that he pollinated in late spring and summer of 1819 all set fruit and of the seeds he sowed in December, seven plants grew, one of which flowered in the autumn of 1820.

There are several named cultivars of Passiflora x violacea. 'Victoria' is probably the most well-known. If there is any actual difference between any of these cultivars remains to be researched. Just to confuse matters, one of these cultivars is called 'Sabine'. The hybrid Passiflora x violacea should not be confused with Passiflora violacea which is an illegitimate synonym of Passiflora amethystina.

Passiflora x violacea 'Victoria' is a vigorous plant with attractive 3 or 5-lobed leaves. The flower is stunning, larger than the flower of either parent and inheriting the red from Passiflora racemosa to create a purple colouration often with the white of Passiflora caerulea showing through on the middle of the petals. The coronal filaments are white with the central circle being a dark purple, The five stamens are a contrasting green with the anthers a greenish-yellow and the three stigmas are exquisitely mottled purple and white.

Passiflora x violacea 'Victoria' is not as hardy as Passiflora caerulea but does well in a warm sheltered aspect taking sub-zero temperatures down to about -8C. Protecting the lower portions of the plant by wrapping it in several layers of fleece is advised. Well established plants that do get severely frosted will often regrow herbaceously from the roots if well mulched. In colder regions it can be grown in a cool conservatory.