Mandevilla Question

I have a pink-red mandevilla in an eight-inch pot. It's perky, happy, and blooming regularly, but not growing. All the descriptions I've seen say the mandevilla is a vine reaching 15-20 feet if given a trellis or other support.

Mine's about eight inches tall, and doesn't have anything resembling a tendril. I know it won't grow huge in the pot, but I don't want to have to dig it up for winter. I was kind of hoping I could encourage it to climb a nearby trellis while still rooted in the pot, then cut off the top for overwintering.

Any ideas?


This message was edited Jul 2, 2008 11:30 PM

There are some types (often sold as Dipladenia instead of Mandevilla) which are shrubbier and don't climb as well. Or it could be that yours was just a tiny baby when you got it and it needs to grow some more before it'll really start exhibiting climbing behavior.

I have a Mandevilla on my deck that is doing very well. It is my first time for one of these. Have you been fertilizing it at all. The nursery here recommended that I fertilize it every couple of weeks. Hope this helps.

I just started giving mine some 10-18-5 fert, to see if it would result in growth and additional blossoms. The answer: Yes. It's very hot here (near 100 every day), so I'm watering freely, too. The Mandy is covered with blossoms and putting out new leaves, too.

DallasDad,

Sounds like your plant is doing great. Summer is their flowering season, you will get more leaves later in the year.

Hi Dad, these plants dont have tendrils, they twist and twine around anything they touch, mine is an indoor plant here, Red one and I have to dead head it every day, watch out for a milky sap that oozes from the plant wherever it is either broken or when you deadhead, not sure if it is allergy problem, so dont take a chance or touch your face/eyes etc while working with it, I mist mine each day to as they dont really like being baked in very hot sun so give shade if you can when the sun is at it's hottest. or move it to part shade, they do like well fed when in the growing stage and flowering will be more prolific if well fed. cut back on water/feed when the plant starts to rest from flowering, most people here in UK grow these plants each year, but mine is about 8 feet tall, woven into a wigwam cane trellis and is in a large pot with added chicken pellets and top dressed with stones to stop evaporation and water splashed soil, to increase the branching nip out the growing tips of all the branches/stems and they will reward you with a bushier fuller climber, this is good as the flowers dont grow on the tips of the stems but just burst out from anywhere, it is a wonderful plant so enjoy. WeeNel.

Thanks, WeeNel. I'm between blooms right now (the plant is resting after giving me a dozen blooms last week), so I'll do some pinching.

Your Welcome Dallasdad, if your plant has not started to grow yet after resting, then keep it watered less, once you see some new growth, start to give it a half doze liquid feed when you do increase the watering, once it has really got climbing, I give it full doze of feed every second week at on of the watering's, the stems are very easy to snap so as you dead head, take care, just enjoy, good luck. WeeNel.

I have a mandevilla that I planted last year. It did wonderfully and then of course during the winter months died back. I was just wondering (since I'm a beginner at this stuff) if I should expect it to come back and do as well as it did last year? I was also wondering if there are any special pointers anyone can give me.
Thanks, Jenn.

Did you leave it outdoors for the winter? If so it most likely won't come back since they're not hardy in your zone, but if you brought it in for the winter then it should come back for you.

Oops! I left it outside thinking it would come back. Maybe I should try some plants that are native to my area.

Natives are definitely a great idea, but you can grow plenty of non-natives too, just look them up in Plant Files or check the tag that comes with the plant and see what zone they're hardy to. Or if you're like the rest of us, there'll always be a few plants that you really love and want to grow even though they're not hardy, then you either have to plan to buy new ones every year and treat them as annuals, or else bring them inside for the winter.