Mandevilla - Planting, Care & Growing Guide 2024

In sunny areas of the garden, the time-honored Mandevilla plant vine adds a burst of vivid, beachy color and large, exotic flowers.

The Mandevilla is an archetypical example of a tropical climbing plant. It has a rapid growth rate, thrives in the sun, and is willing to wrap itself over any trellis or wall. Additionally, it produces a large number of colorful blooms. Its spectacular red, pink, and white flowers provide patios, porches, and decks located a long way from the ocean, a lush tropical vibe that you may achieve by growing Mandevilla in pots. Mandevilla is a popular choice for containers.

The following is information that will be helpful to you in successfully cultivating a Mandevilla plant.

Mandevilla 101

The regions of Central and South America are where Mandevilla first became established. Henry Mandeville, an English ambassador and amateur botanist discovered this lovely vine with blossoming flowers growing in the forests of Argentina in the late 1830s. He gave the plant its current name in honor of his discovery. He initially referred to it as the Dipladenia and even sent a specimen back to England with him, but a few decades later, you modified the plant's name to honor him.

Since it was first grown in gardens in Europe and the United States over two centuries ago, Mandevilla has developed into a widely cultivated plant in both regions. It is well-liked for many different reasons, including the following: Mandevilla is a plant that requires little care, is resistant to disease and pests, proliferates, and produces many blooms. If you start one off in a container in April, it will grow into a towering vine covered in fragrant blossoms throughout the summer. Is a Mandevilla a perennial or annual? When grown in the ideal growing zones of 9 to 11, Mandevilla is a perennial plant, but it cannot tolerate temperatures below freezing and will perish if exposed to such conditions. Because of this, it is often cultivated as an annual in most locations in the United States. If you reside in an area where the temperature drops below freezing, you can protect your Mandevilla plant from dying by bringing it inside for the winter.

• Botanical Name: Mandevilla spp
• Mandevilla, rock trumpet and Brazilian jasmine are the more common names for this plant.
• Bloom Time: Summer, fall
• USDA Hardiness Zones: Can be cultivated as an annual in colder regions or as a perennial in Zones 9 to 11 of the USDA Hardiness Zones.

Establishing A Mandevilla Plantation

When exposed to direct sunlight, Mandevilla grows to its maximum potential. If you locate it in an area with fewer than six hours of direct sunlight per day, you won't see as many blossoms produced by it. During the summer afternoons, Mandevilla will not only endure but welcome some protection from the heat if you reside in a hot region (hello, Phoenix and Austin!). If you grow Mandevilla vines in a container, you can quickly move the plant, so its leaves are protected from the sun by placing it under a patio roof or a shade tree.

It's important to have soil that drains if you want to grow Mandevilla. They are susceptible to root rot in soils that are too heavy, and they prefer sandy environments that are rich in organic matter and have a lot of slack space between the particles.

After planting, give the soil a thorough watering, and then keep it moist without making it muddy. In contrast to many other flowering plants, Mandevilla can endure a certain amount of dryness while continuing to produce flowers. However, they prefer a steady amount of moisture; therefore, you shouldn't let the soil go dry in between waterings.

The Mandevilla plant looks particularly lovely when grown in containers. Plant a variety capable of producing vines in a container and then train the vines to grow along the edge of a balcony or up a porch post. Throughout the summer, you will shower with a profusion of flowers and leaves that are lustrous and deep green. Plant a shrubby variety of plants in a container that you can hang, and then suspend that container from the rafters of your front porch. Your outdoor space will appear as a scene right out of the Caribbean if you plant flowering vines that spill over the sides of the container.

Caring For Mandevilla

At least once yearly, you must prune Mandevilla vines to maintain their clean appearance and continued flower production. Because of how quickly they develop, you'll need to grab your clippers if you don't want this baby to take control of the garden. That is, unless you, like Hilton Carter and I, want to dig gardens that show that nature, rather than humans is in charge. The winter or the beginning of spring is the ideal time to prune Mandevilla because this is when you will catch it just before it begins to blossom. Because Mandevilla flowers only appear on newly developed stems, if you prune it too late in the season, you risk not getting any flowers. It is not recommended to prune more than one-third of the plant at a time. To maintain the health of your Mandevilla, you should periodically prune away any branches that are damaged or infected with the disease.

The conditions of high humidity and warm temperatures are necessary for Mandevilla to flourish. After all, we are talking about a tropical environment. The ideal climate for Mandevilla plants is one in which the temperature does not drop below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, even at night. They are doomed to perish in the event of a severe freeze. If they are contained in a pot, you should bring them inside. To ensure that your plants have the best possible quality of life, you should regularly mist their leaves if you live in a dry area or are growing them inside. That will ensure that humidity levels remain high enough to meet their needs.

In the spring, Mandevilla should have fertilizer applied. Feed them before they start flowering because it takes a lot of nutrition for plants to produce blossoms, and you want a head start on that. In addition, during the time of year when the Mandevilla flowers, you should apply a liquid fertilizer diluted by half its normal strength to the plant every two weeks to ensure that it maintains its pristine appearance.

You should incorporate compost into the ground. Your Mandevilla plants, whether grown in soil or a container, will do better if organic material is mixed into the soil they are growing in. Fertilizer has many benefits, but nothing beats the results of working with quality soil. You don't have a pile to use for composting, do you? Add leaf mold, wood chips, or worm casings to the ground to support plant growth.

Pests And Diseases

Mandevilla has a low risk of contracting diseases and being attacked by pests when cultivated outside in the appropriate conditions. However, if you bring Mandevilla indoors for the winter, it can become susceptible to whiteflies, aphids, scales, spider mites, and mealybugs. You are bringing Mandevilla indoors for the winter. When forced to spend months away from their natural environment, even the hardiest tropical plants might have trouble surviving. If your Mandevilla becomes infested, you should immediately break out the neem oil or insecticidal soap and spray the plant's foliage and blossoms. Continue doing this until all of the insects have been eliminated. It will require a couple of different applications and some patience on your part.

Different Varieties Of Mandevilla That Are Recommended

At one point in time, every Mandevilla plant was a climbing vine. But horticulturists have developed newer, shorter, and bushier types, making them more suitable for growing in containers and hanging baskets. Mandevilla that are older in their genetic lineage tends to have larger leaves with a more coarse texture. Mandevilla blooms are now allowed to take center stage thanks to new types of plants that have leaves that are more glossy and smaller. There are significantly more than one hundred different species of Mandevilla. The following are some of our absolute favorites:

The 'Alice Dupont' Mandevilla is the traditional climbing type cultivated for the large, pink blooms and large, textured leaves it produces. Grapevines have the potential to reach heights of up to 20 feet. It was named after Pierre S. du Pont's wife. She was a successful businessman during the Gilded Age and was responsible for creating Longwood Gardens, located outside of Philadelphia.

The 'Sun Parasol Crimson' Mandevilla is a red variety of Mandevilla that grows into a semi-bushy plant that may reach heights of up to 15 feet and bears crimson flowers. A whole series of Sun Parasol Mandevilla has been bred by the Japanese business Suntory. The blooms of these Mandevilla range in color from white to very dark crimson. Mandevilla x amabilis, often known as the 'Pink Parfait' variation, is a climbing plant that produces double flowers in a light pink color. It can reach a height of ten meters (twenty feet).

"Red Riding Hood" (Mandevilla sanderi) is a shorter, shrubbier plant that only gets 12 feet tall. It has deep pink blooms with yellow throats and grows on a plant that is only 12 feet tall. On a vine that can grow up to 5 meters tall, the Chilean jasmine, also known as Mandevilla laxa, bears flowers of pure white color.

The white Mandevilla plant, also known as Mandevilla boliviensis, is a tropical plant that can reach a height of ten feet and has white flowers.