Growing chinola..

May 29, 2006
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We have a half dozen chinola vines at the house and since moving in a few weeks ago, I've been pulling them carefully out of the trees, training the vines along wires, and pinching back the ends to get new growth.

It's impressive how fast they're growing, sometimes a couple inches overnight. Down the road, I want to make a pergola like this using 6" concrete reinforcement mesh. Lots of shade, lots of passion fruit:

[video=youtube_share;W1QsaIxYOTQ]https://youtu.be/W1QsaIxYOTQ[/video]
 
Jul 28, 2014
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Do you know the time frame to bare fruit from a young plant? On a side note, I like making Chinola salad dressing, the sourness from the Chinola substitues the vinegar and obviously the Chinola gives it a different taste as well
 

Abuela

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May 13, 2006
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Our plants took about 6 months after planting before they bore fruit. The vines spread like wildfire and really take over so do not plant by another plant you care to see again! Chinola blossoms to me rival the beauty of a orchid. My favorite use is in a coconut sauce over mero.
Good luck with your crop.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
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Abuela is right. Keep them apart from everything. I've seen them just about strangle a massive mango tree.
 
May 29, 2006
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Yes, they are all going to be trained on wires away from trees. They try to climb up when there is shade and fill in where there is sun. I have a good spot for the pergola six ft wide, so the mesh will make an arch over it. I want the front side of the house covered with them for shade.
 
May 29, 2006
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There are two varieties. One has the three lobed lance shaped leaf and the other oval leaves. Mi esposa tells me the oval leaf variety has bigger fruit. She has never heard of pinching back or composting. I'm finding that most leaves here(mango and avocado) need to soak for four or five days or they just dry out instead of rotting.
 
May 29, 2006
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Each node on vines has three points of growth: a tendril, a leaf, an a bud for a new vine. Cutting the main vine or clipping the leaf or tendril will make the buds shoot.
 

reilleyp

Well-known member
Dec 12, 2006
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Our plants took about 6 months after planting before they bore fruit. The vines spread like wildfire and really take over so do not plant by another plant you care to see again! Chinola blossoms to me rival the beauty of a orchid. My favorite use is in a coconut sauce over mero.
Good luck with your crop.

Can you post some photos of the flower?
 

Drake

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
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i have a chinola plantation with about 8 lines of plants. We had one first bumper harvest and are starting to get the second now. Did you know that you can artificially assist the cross polination by manually passing the pollen from one flower to another? Also the name Passion Fruit as it is known in English comes from the Spanish conquistadoeres who used the cross shaped leaves to expeess the passion of Christ. Try to select the larger fruit variety for seeds to make your venture more fruitful and spray regularly with 20-20-20 fertilizer thats usually bright blue.
 

jrhartley

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Sep 10, 2008
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I think they eventually die if the leaves and shoots get too large - they cant take up enough water to support the whole thing, so its best to start some new ones to take over
 
May 29, 2006
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I'll bring back osmocote fertilizer pellets from the states and source some 20-20-20 here. Also bringing back some rooting hormone so I can do auyama cuttings. It's making soil that is the tricky part.

Auyama will also bear more fruit if you manually pollinate. It has male and female flowers
.
 

suarezn

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Feb 3, 2002
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They grow like crazy...I had one in my backyard and had to eliminate it as it was taking over everything. I do love Passion Fruit, but Dominicans have a myth that supposedly the juice is not good for your manhood...sooooo...to be on safe side :cheeky:
 

Drake

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
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Seed selection is important. Look for the really big juicy chinolas for seeds and the tasty bright orange Auyamas also for seeds. Never heard of cuttimgs from Auyama.
 
May 29, 2006
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I doubt root hormone is easy to by here. I'l try cuttings and air rooting too. You wrap dirt around a stem of a side vine in black plastic and a few weeks later, roots grow into the soil and you tranplant it.