The Mandevilla has grown into a popular plant showing up in garden centers the spring time color bonanza. This vining beauty shows off its hot pink or dark red mandevilla flowers to guest entering through the front door or as a show stopper covering a trellis or arbor on the way into the back yard garden. Planted in the ground or enjoying it’s life in pot doesn’t seem to matter.
After showing off it’s beauty in the spring and summer months what can you do with the mandevilla during the winter? Can it be brought inside to overwinter? What needs to be done from a culture perspective? What kind of care is needed during the winter months?
Mandevilla plant belongs to the large plant known as Dipladenia. The name Mandevilla was named after Henry Mandeville who was a gardener and a diplomat. This small exotic plant is known for its twining stems and oval-shaped green leaves. The trumpet-shaped mandevilla flowers come in shades of pink, yellow and white.
This graceful plant provides a perfect view in an indoor location. During summer it is put outdoors and in winter it is taken indoors. This plant is sensitive to cold that it can only be put outdoor after winter. To keep blooming, it requires plenty of water and phosphorus fertilizer every other week, especially during spring and summer times.
Deciduous or evergreen tropical stem twiners presenting a trellis of lavish summer show of white or pinkish funnel-shaped flowers with exquisite fragrance. The loose, open growth may reach five feet in one year, ultimately aspires to twenty feet with favorable growing conditions.
If the vines look bare at the base, use smaller plants as camouflage. If leaves drop in winter, train the stems to a decorative pattern. Plant these vines only where their loose, open habit suits the surroundings and landscape design. And by all means, try one in a container, and store it indoors in winter.
Culture includes high humidity, a fibrous soil mixture with nearly half the bulk in chunky charcoal, moisture except during dormancy, protection against hottest summer sun but full sun otherwise. Pick flowers before seed pods form. Fertilize generously. Prune after flowering to shape and thin, and train the twining stems carefully. Young plants need to be tied up at first. Propagation is by seeds or stem cuttings over heat. These plants are often offered as dipladenia.
Mandevilla laxa (suaveolens) – Three-inch leaves and fragrant white or pinkish flowers two inches across.
Mandevilla splendens – Eight-inch leaves, clusters of pink-tinged white flowers. ‘Amoena’ is probably a hybrid, with pink flowers darker at the throat.
Family: Apocynaceae
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
What is the best way to prune this plant on the trelis? Do you prune it like you do ivy to promote bushiness? Do you twist the vines around the trellis or just prune?
Thank you for any assistance that you can provide.
-Kate
I would prune it the same way for more branching.
i take it this is a annual? please respond to email address. i just received one as a gift and it is beautiful!!
I live in Phoenix Az and want an attractive vine for a trellis on the west side of the home—–would mandevilla work for this application
my mandevilla leaves are beginning to trun yellow in places and easily drop off if touched. could I be over rwatering?
I have a pink mandevilla and did keep in my sun porch all last winter. I now have it on my patio and it is blooming big pink flowers.
After the winter month,I put my Mandeville outside on my deck in the full sun.I do that every year.It strted growing again, lots of lhealthy leaves and several vines, but what I don’t see this year is flowers, it is already Summer.Can you give me an idea why there are no flowers yet. Thank you for your help
I have a red mandevilla the blooms are looking wash out almost a white look to them. If yiu could give me any kind of information I would be grateful.
I just bought a Mandevilla and want to know what to do for it in the winter. Does it need wrapping or just leave it ? thanks
I kept a Mandevilla through the winter near a window that got a lot of morning sun.
Last fall when I brought it inside I pruned it way back. Put it outside this spring when the temperature was right and it is beautiful now–Loaded with pink blooms.
I successfully wintered my mandevilla on my very sunny but cool sunporch. It climbed all over the place blooming beautiful red flowers all winter. However, when I moved it to my deck and pruned it back a bit, it has not flowered at all. It is climbing again though. Any suggestions on how to make it flower?
I live in Indiana, how do I care for them over the winter once inside?
I have two tall plants that are climbing up a thin triangular support structure. Should I cut the vines back for branching at a certain level or just let it continue to climb as far as it grows? The flowers are prolific at this point.
Thank you!
I overwintered my ruby star mandevilla by bringing it inside last fall (I’m in Zone 6) and keeping it near a sliding glass door window so it got plenty of light. It bloomed for a while and then dried up I gave it water every few weeks. When the temps got warmer (around the 1st of April), I brought it back outside and gave it a good pruning. Now it is thriving and blooming beautifully again.
I very successfully wintered a gorgeous Mandevilla. I had it in my family door next to the patio door facing West so it got lots of afternoon sun. (as much as you can in Northern WI!). It grew beautifully an in early June I moved it back outside. Unfortunately it bore only one flower but continues to grow in leaps and bounds… but no flowers. If someone can help I’d appreciate it!
My plant is very healthy and growing well but I’m not getting any flowers! What am I doing wrong? The plant is about 5 ft tall now..
I bought my first Mandivalla Plant/Vine over the summer (gulp!). I’ve always loved the way it twisted and climbed up a trellis and the beautiful flowers it produced. However, I was afraid that it would be a waste of money since I would not be able to care for it during the winter months. Yet I took the chance and did some homework on the Mandivalla and hopefully I’ve found the solution which would allow me to purchase several more of this majestic plant/vine in the upcoming future.
I will let you know how things turn out next Spring.
Here’s hoping for the best and thank you for the tips.
Over wintering Mandevilla:
I have experimented 2 way here in northeaster coastal South Carolina:
bright sunny S.E window and garage low light window.
The suny window lost about 50% foilage but returned to full once the weather warmed up and placed outside. Light pruning and Miracle Grow to jump start it followed up by use Bloom Booster fertilizer.
The garage kept one was kept on the dry side due to low light condtions and coolness. Lost all foilage going into dormancy. Started it going by increasing watering in early spring and moved to bright indoor light. Let new foilage grow and than started fertilizing as with other one. Moved outdoors at warm weather arrival. Pruned and continued fertilizing as above.
Have root pruned and repotted both every other year.
Garaged one not as “perky” as indoor one. Apparently dormancy does delay the plant’s developement.
Back in Maryland, I simply moved them into my little heated greenhouse (night temp in low to mid 50′s)
Have one that we just put on the patio in a pot and is getting full sunlight. Over the last two days it has lost an alarming amount of leaves, but the flowers look good. Leaves are a little brown at the tips but overall look healthy. any ideas?
I’ve had my mandevilla plant for about a year now. After it flowers, most of the leaves start turning yellow and drop off. Is this normal?
I have 2 mandevillas in pots. I live in Florida and we are in rainy season. (rains almost everyday) Before the rains came they were doing very well, but now many leaves are turning yellow and they are struggling. They are in the full sun but also in the full rain. Should I move them to an area where they will not get rain everyday?
I just bought a Mandevilla vine and we planted it in the ground. Should we dig it up in the fall and put it in a pot? I live in South Texas and it does get cold. Thank You
I too have a beautiful Ruby Red plant that the leaves are turning yellow and dropping off, I stopped watering it as I felt it was too wet but the leaves are still dropping off but at a slower rate. Is it over watering??
That being said it is growing fast and the new growth looks very healthy.
Advice?? Thanks
Melanie
I just let my mandevilla go dormant in my basement for the winter. I never watered it and left it in the dark. This year I brought it up earlier and have it in a window before I take it outdoors. Last year I brought it outdoors from the basement when it was warmer out. It just made it to the top of my garden arch last year. Hopefully this year it will go farther!
Just how is that you prune a Mandevilla vine? mine is taller than the trellis now and wants to grab onto something and there is nothing else but the ceiling there since I brought it inside last week. What do I cut back on it and how far?
Prune it way back. Read our article on How to care for a mandevilla in the winter.
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