Passiflora Sapphire | The Italian Collection of Maurizio Vecchia

DESCRIPTION:

The P. 'Sapphire' flower, another prestigious and widespread John Vanderplank hybrid, is enchanting for its dense, large corona of filaments, wavy and with colours that fade from a very dark blue-violet to pure white.

I was especially struck by the shape of the flower, precisely because of the richness of its lively corona.

The flower of P. 'Sapphire', about 9 cm in diameter, has white, slightly retroflexed petals and sepals. The corona is very dense and the filaments, which are wavy at the apex, have an unusual colour. The centre is very dark violet, almost black. This shade remains up to about ¾ of their length, then fades to white, as the filaments thin out and move in elegant undulations.

Vanderplank published the parents of this hybrid, leaving a mystery. The mother is P. edulis f. flavicarpa, but the origin of the pollen is unknown.

P. 'Sapphire' is popular with collectors and is easy to find at specialist nurseries.

Cultivation must generally be done in pots, except in regions with a mild climate, where it can be planted in open ground. In fact, it is very hardy, tolerating temperatures close to 3-4°C, meaning it may well be able to acclimatise in western Liguria and southern Italy where it will grow to considerable size.

Flowering is always abundant during the entire summer period.

Propagation is only possible by cuttings.