Canadian Gardening: Tropicals in Canada, 1 by eastjack

eastjack wrote:
The mandevilla does indeed like high humidity and temperature. My unheated sun room faces west and gets the south exposure from the end. I have to hang a white sheet inside to shield the sun from June to September or the temperature will get into the 50's. It has gone over 40 deg on some days but that does not seem to bother the mandevilla's although if exposed to direct sun the leaves will burn. I use a spray bottle to wet therm down and they flowers from August onwards. It will usually get to cold sometime in late October and the flowers will fall. Then I cut them down removing most of the foliage and bring them in for the winter. During the winter I keep them near an east facing window to limit the sunlight to the mornings, stop all feeding, and keep the soil slightly moist but on the dry side. They do grow a little over the winter but easy to keep under control. I put them out in the sun room sometime in May bringing them in at night for a week to get them used to the cooler temperatures. Next spring I will re-pot them as it has been two years now since last re-pot.
I have had visitors ask me if they are are real! The pictures were taken on September 21st.

Its great to see all those other Canadians who think tropical.

Dave