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rommy_gw

Mandevilla vine

rommy
17 years ago

Hi! Wondering if anyone can advise me concerning growing a mandevilla vine in the n.c sandhills area. I know they grow well here in spring and summer; but am needing some advise about whether they should be wintered out of ground or in! It is a beautiful vine still in the pot and really do want to put it in the ground! Thanks for any advice. I have searched the net and have not really found much, even on garden web to answer my questions! Thanks in advance for any input! Tips on soil prep would be a plus too!

Rommy

Comments (29)

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    17 years ago

    There have been posts here on GW in the past from Zone 8 Texas growers who successfully overwintered these in the ground. The vines would die back with a freeze and if heavily mulched, they resprouted in the spring just fine. These are rhizomes so they shouldn't be planted too deep (thus the mulch).

  • rommy
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Jenny, Thanks for the input. I have put it in the ground next to my driveway where it can climb a wrought iron trellis that supports the carport. Looking forward to it growing and continuing to bloom like it is doing now!
    Rommy

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    17 years ago

    Sounds good and wish you luck! The post I specifically remember was someone who planted theirs against trellises on the side of a garage and it did come back and cover the garage as was hoped.

  • rommy
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    I will try to find time to read through the posts and ck. it out Jenny. Thanks for the encouragement. I'll post how it is doing later in the summer and hopefully have some pics. They are a beautiful flower! Got some moon vines going too! Hoping they will grow up an old stump and cover it and cover my front porch rail. It just seems "a watched plant never grows"...at least not as fast as I want them to..haha..
    Have a nice weekend ahead!
    Rommy

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    17 years ago

    Rommy - Moon vines are "tender" perennials that you can actually overwinter where you are so that's another for you! LOL

  • rommy
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Hey Jenny! I just took a look at your pics again. Your balcony is certainly a nice retreat with all foilage and color. And the birds!!! I love it. Thanks for the info on the moon vine. I will be sure to mulch over them this fall when they start dying back. I am hoping they do something this year. Maybe I will have some blooms in August, they have been slow going after finally coming up..lol! They are starting to grow faster now that they have started to vine. OH! I found aphids all over the leaves of my iris the other day. I sprayed them with an organic spray called safer and then with dawn dish soap. I sure hope it gets rid of them. I'm getting ready to move them to a new location that is dryer than where they are now. Don't want them rotting and certainly dont' want the aphids to destroy them either. I Hope you enjoy the rest of the week and thanks again for all your help!
    Rommy

  • marylyn
    17 years ago

    I've been looking for someone who has more information about Mandevilla, especially "Alice Dupont". I purchased one from my favorite nursery, three vines potted in a 6" pot. I transferred it to an 8" with a nice trellis. It started slow but now that it's reached the top of the trellis. it's sending out many more vines and is blooming. This year, here in Northern VA the weather has been strange. Spring in Jan., winter in Mar. Cool spring in Apr and May. Then really hot end of Jun and now July.
    My plant gets full sun for about 4.5--5 hrs late morning. Open tree shade the rest of the day.
    Can the vines be trained to go down the trellis as they are all now at the top and looking for somewhere to go?
    In the future can this plant be pruned back after it starts to grow, in order to make it bushier?
    And speaking of future. Has anyone ever wintered it over in the house. I have a very sunny Sun room. Nite temps about 55 degrees and day temps minimum when cloudy about 65-70 degrees.

  • rommy
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Marilyn, I hope you get the advice you are seeking. Since this post doesn't get many responsces you might want to start your own post and see if you get a response that way. It will probably get noticed quicker that way. My mandevilla isn't doing so well. It had a bad place on it which I thought might just be a damaged stem and bought it anyway. It has proceeded to die back ever since. Can't find any pests on it. I am going to dig up the remaining portion and rinse and check the roots and try potting it. Hope you find the response you are looking for. It sounds like your plant is growing well. If Jen pops in here she may be able to help you out with advice she is pretty knowledgeable and has some beautiful plants herself. She grows on her balcony so she would probably be the one to advise you on overwintering! Good luck!
    Rommy

  • karyn1
    17 years ago

    I've taken my mandevilla vines inside over the winter. The first year I didn't cut them back and I got a terrible mite infestation. The plants made it, just barely. The following year I cut them way back so that I didn't have as much plant to deal with before taking them in. I continued to water them, just less frequently and put them in the shower a few times. I didn't fertilize at all. They didn't grow well during the winter and didn't flower but they started growing immediately when I put them back out this spring.
    Karyn

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    17 years ago

    I overwintered an Alice Dupont for about 8 years and last summer it got some mealies on it and I just didn't keep after it so it succombed. :-( I'll miss my baby!

    But I did as Karyn did, although I didn't cut them back but tried to keep the air humid around them to avoid or reduce the spider mite issue (also giving some air circulation helps). Many who do overwinter them do cut them back, which makes it easier to handle. No fertilizing and less water during winter and you basically let it rest (the leaves will drop but don't worry). Around February, the remaining stems would sprout new shoots and sometimes the rhizomes in the pot themselves would sprout new vines.

    As for training - while the vines are soft, you could try wrapping it back down the trellis and maybe tying into place where it will harden that way. When mine went past the trellis I sortof let it hang over the balcony rail in the sun. Basically, I let it support itself each year by keeping some of the older vines in place (you can see it growing on itself below).

    Here it was one year with a dark pink aged flower and alongside my tropical hibiscus:

  • rommy
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Jen, Glad you popped in here and answered Marilyn's questions. As usual your pictures are beautiful! I'm hoping my vine survives..still don't know what is wrong with it! Hope it hasn't been too hot for you in PA. It is very muggy here even when the temps drop some. Lot's of thunderstorms hanging around. Have a great week ahead.
    Rommy

  • blue_velvet_elvis
    17 years ago

    When you wintered them over in the house... what location? Very sunny window? Moderate sun? I can't bear the thought of my beautiful potted mandevillas dying. Summer will soon be drawing to an end. :~(

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    17 years ago

    I just put mine near one of my table lamps - but mainly because I didn't have a good spot with all the other things I was overwintering at the time. The amount of light needed to keep them growing would need to be much more than what comes through a window though (even if it is "sunny") - ie., artificial light (unless you have a greenhouse).

    Note that they have no problem going to sleep in winter and resprouting in spring, so you don't have to keep them actively growing in winter. A number of people who have posted here in the past simply cut them back to about 12" and put them in a cool (not freezing but usually ~50° F - 60° F) dark spot, giving them just a little water each month so the soil doesn't go bone dry. They will wake up around the end of February and into March. They will actually sprout from leaf nodes on old woody vines, with occassional shoots coming from the rhizome in the soil.

    When it's indoors with leaves and in a bright warm spot, make sure there is plenty of humidity and some air circulation around it or it may attract spider mites. Also don't freak when the leaves eventually drop and it goes to sleep. That's normal.

  • blue_velvet_elvis
    17 years ago

    Thanks Jenny, they're new to me, as are many of the plants now that I've had to completely relandscape (new basement) I'm trying a few different things this year. I saw them on sale and had to get them ... they're BEAUTIFUL! :)

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    17 years ago

    Good luck with your plant! Also, it may take until late summer before it will bloom so don't get too discouraged next summer if it grows but hasn't bloomed earlier.

  • cheryln
    17 years ago

    Help! I have a Mandevilla that has climbed all over a birdbath and up an 8 ft shepherds hook. Last night a raccoon pushed over the birdbath and broke off the vine. Is there any way to save it? Also, what is the best way to start new plants from the existing ones. I have a couple of them and I want more for next year.

  • rommy
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Cherlyn, I wish I knew how to advise you; mine died. Hopefully someone with more expertise on Mandevilla will respond to your post. Good luck!
    Rommy

  • lschwing
    17 years ago

    I have read thru the postings above and thank all of you for your postings, but I still have some questions. First I would like to know how to propagate the mandevilla? Second I live in Houston Texas and am wondering what I should do with my 2 planted Mandevillas this winter (if you call it that). This is my first real year to grow plants. I do have a green house should I dig them up or leave them?

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    17 years ago

    cheryln - as long as the rhizomes are okay, it should be fine and can resprout new side shoots from whatever parts of the vine remain and from the ground.

    For cheryln & Ischwing - I have heard that they can be propagated by taking some pieces at least 6" long and with a couple of leaf nodes (remove bottom leaves and keep a couple top leaves, dip the bottoms in root hormone, and stick the cutting in some growing media (soil if sticking in ground or soiless mix, perlite, vermiculite, etc, for pots). Tenting it might help initially - whether starting inside or out, although I expect some may just stick the pieces under a shrub in a shady spot if the temps are warm for a good period of time. You could also try layering the vine by taking a shoot and burying a couple nodes under the soil near the mother vine but keeping it attached to the mother. Then secure the buried portion and water as normal. Eventually the buried nodes can root and the shoot can be severed from the mother. They should also be able to be divided using the rhizome itself as long as there is a node on the piece that is sliced off.

    Ischwing - in your zone, they are hardy, so you don't have to do anything special. They will lose leaves in a frost but will resprout once the weather settles in spring. And believe it or not, they will sprout new shoots from the leaf nodes on the old woody vines so you have an option of cutting back to about 12" or leaving it intact.

  • lost_in_boston
    17 years ago

    So delighted to find this thread -- I've been worried about how to overwinter my potted Mandevilla -- and you folks have come to the rescue!

    Thanks to you all.

  • lschwing
    17 years ago

    Thanks very much! Mine are doing very well right now.I am going to try cutting and rooting over the winter like you have suggested in my greenhouse. Thank you for some of your knowledge. Keep up your green thumb.

  • cathy6930
    17 years ago

    I keep trying to grow Mandevillas on my fence and I keep
    loosing them for many reasons. I have two that the leaves are turning bright yellow and I'm afraid I'm loosing them. I don't see anything on them and I don't think they are over watered. Do you have any suggestions?

  • john_ny
    17 years ago

    {{gwi:292919}}

  • michelle45
    16 years ago

    I am a proud new owner of a mandevilla vine. i would like to plant it in my new flower garden, but im not sure if my zone (zone 6) is ok for doing this. the flower garden gets alot of sun during the day. and will i have to dig it up this winter? Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated
    thanks, and happy gardening.
    michelle45

  • kailea
    15 years ago

    I "robbed" a rhizome from my dormant mandevilla and potted it up in regular potting soil. Okay, what's my chance of it sprouting a new plant? Is there something I should have done? It was about 3 inches deep at least under the plant so should it be planted that deep or am I just wasting my time hoping it will send new growth? Does it need heat and light now?

  • bjm4173
    13 years ago

    We have had a Mandeville for about 10 years, never brought it in at Winter, never cut it down or fetilized it. It's in the ground and it has grown to about 7 - 8 foot tall. It is one of the healthiest, most beautiful plants we have.
    I have a question ... What are the long green growths called that grow from where the flowers fall off. Can they be used to propagate new vines?

  • charlotte789
    13 years ago

    My Mandevilla, with the smaller blooms and leaves on it. A deep red. The leaves, have started turning yellow. I fertilizer it. and also found some Iron fertilizer. I was looking at it again. and also reading the posts. I had put some crystals in the potting soil. My plant is in a large pot, on the south side of house. I notice that the leaves closes to the bloom are a nice green. Some maybe the fertilizer did some good. But I still have leaves turnnig yellow on it. I think the crystals are holding too much moisture in the soil. So I will hold back on the watering a little bit.

    I have the larger variety of Mandevilla with the pink blooms on it. It is also planted in a container, but it has not crystals in the soil. And the leaves are not turning yellow, it gets water when the other mandevillas are water.
    Let me know what you think.

  • robinava
    11 years ago

    This spring I purchased 3 mandevillas that are blooming profusely. They are in pots on my deck. How can I contain them in 12" pots? I was given one in a 15" pot which is very heavy and cannot be moved without a second person.. I want to keep the growth under control and be able to comfortably move the pot myself come fall.
    Thank you,
    Robin

  • Dzitmoidonc
    11 years ago

    lschwing, I'm not really good at propagating from stem cuttings, so I can't give advice in that department.

    I can tell you however that they grow easily from seed. The only thing that pollinated mine were the night flying humming bird moths, the Hornworm moths. I always let a few hornworms eat a couple of tomato plants, and they returned the favor by pollinating the Mandevilla. Seed pods are skinny wishbone looking things, joined at the ends. They betray their Milkweed relationship by their shape and their silky parachutes. Seeds ripen when the pods are just getting brown so you don't have to wait until they split and send the seeds flying. It takes 2 years from seed for bloom, and since most of the ones in the trade are hybrids, your flowers will vary in color. Some of mine were almost white, some with darker pink throats, etc. I gave them up because they take a lot of space, but if you have room, go for it.

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