Mandevilla, Dipladenia

On Nov 13, 2014, jackhelt from Auburn, IN wrote:

I bought my sun parosol back in may of 2013. I brought indoors when temps got 50 deg. I put it in my east facing bay window and in march of 2014 it started vining. It was more of a small bush until that point. When it got warm out I sorted wrapping the vines around a small trellis I inserted into the pot. The vines stopped and it got bushy again. The plant for 2 summers now has produced gorgeous blooms of scarlet red. It started blooming again shortly before the vining. This year, I brought it inside in Oct. and now it is Nov.,still blooming, and sending vines again. Today, I noticed green pods that resemble those of a Cleome, shooting off one of the vines. There are 2 of them looking like very skinny fingers sticking up. I've never seen anything quite like it on a plant.
I'm curio... read moreus of how long the pods take to mature, and how long I should wait until planting them? Any advice would be great.

On Jun 3, 2013, chrisf48 from Vinita, OK wrote:

Wonderful and full of tips!

On Oct 10, 2012, BayAreaTropics from Hayward, CA wrote:

Outdoors only in San Diego,Los Angeles on the west coast for all year. After that,they wont take long cool winters even if no frost. Terrible indoor plants..they grow long rangy runners with mites and many pests..mealys.
The new small leaved hybrids are MUCH hardier. Those,you can count on in 10a or even 9b..


Like Kell said-- this post has two plants mixed up. Red Riding hood and Alice Du Pont. What I wrote above is for ADP.

On Jul 18, 2009, Kell from Northern California, CA (Zone 9b) wrote:

It seems to me that many of the pictures posted here under Mandevilla splendens are really Mandevilla x amoena 'Alice Dupont' with the larger crinkled leaves.

On Jun 22, 2008, amazonite from Dublin,
Ireland wrote:

I bought a Mandevilla Boliviensis last summer for the sunny west facing window of my appartment. Unfortunately it wasn't a very bright summer in Dublin, Ireland (53 deg Northern).

It was doing okay, so I gave him some tomatoe food as I read it wanted somewhere. For whatever reason, I'm not sure, the leaves turned brown and fell off. I have not been able to bring it back to life since.

Symptoms are:

Potted up when purchased, complete with bamboo (Was growing well), Continued to grow, was fed NPK 5.5.10, stopped growing. New leaves and shoots turned brown and fell off, established leaves never died.

Watered soil out thuroughly and next year (9 months later) put in a very sunny location. Showed good indications of climbing but then ... read morefor no reason and no feeding, same browning of leves and climbers occured again.

Moved out of sun, no change to date.

I love the plant, his name is Douglas, but he doesn't seem to do well under my care.

Any advice?

On Mar 9, 2008, cathy4 from St. Louis County, MO (Zone 5a) wrote:

Grown in large pots in the summer, this year I put the pots in the cool dim basement after I cut the vines back to 6 inches (before frost). I added a cup of water to each pot just once during the 5 months they have been downstairs. Today I brought them upstairs and they have small sprouts from the base, and some short fresh green vines from the older pieces.

Two weeks later I now have a dozen new sprouts on each plant. I've fertilized lightly.

On May 17, 2007, alddesigns from Saint Cloud, FL wrote:

I really love this plant! I have two vines planted in a planter near our pool. They came twined upon a small bamboo "trellises" and I put a larger trellis in the planter with them. Almost immediately they have taken hold of the new trellis and seem to grow overnight. The flowers are brilliant pink and quite long lasting.

On Dec 7, 2006, alvin6695 from Ontario, CA wrote:

Love this plant. Have 1 red riding hood and 1 alice du pont planted at trellis together. I too was cutting the vines that swung in the breeze, until I found accidently that, that is where the flowers come from-was pleasantly suprised. I am also now finding that quite a number of leaves are browning and falling off, dont know why, but it has lots of flowers. I also wonder if it has to do with winter coming on. I dont notice any insects but I did notice an improvement when I sprayed insecticide a couple months ago. But now its Dec. and doesnt seem logical to spray plants with bug spray, maybe Im wrong. Hate losing these leaves though. Anybody help? One other note, I was sure I was going to lose my plant when new it definitely looked like it was dying. Thats why I bought a second one abou... read moret 5 or 6 months later. It took quite a long time for both to become established..

On Sep 2, 2006, sallyg from Anne Arundel,, MD (Zone 7b) wrote:

I got my plant last year, kept in a pot, and brought it in for the winter, pretty sure it couldn't stay in the ground. Put back out this spring, had yellow leaves and they seems to have tiny spottiness to them. I guessed spider mites. They are doing much better after some Sevin spray, and fertilizer. I've kept it in the same pot and found it tough, not wilting , always in bloom once started.

On Jul 12, 2005, kimvic1 from Charleston, SC wrote:

I planted two and the the rains came. Both appear to have died, but am crossing my fingers in hopes that they come back.

On Feb 17, 2005, annabelle1979 from Fairhaven, MA (Zone 7a) wrote:

To address the Mandevilla dropping leaves issue:
Re-potting can be enough of a reason for the Mandevilla to enter a bit of a slump. It will perk up if it is in good lighting. It can also droop or drop leaves if the sun is too strong.
I have had an awful time with aphids on my plants as well. For that reason, I almost never place my Mandevilla near other susceptable plants. I still give Mandevilla a positive rating because it's a beautiful, relatively easy to care for plant.
Somebody correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that Mandevilla might be deciduous and needs a dormancy period every so often? So if your plant just starts to randomly act weird (especially in Fall/Winter), it could just be in need of a pruning and some rest.

On Nov 13, 2004, Toxicodendron from Piedmont, MO (Zone 6a) wrote:

At a time when most taxonomists are eager to further divide plant species, I don't understand why they lumped mandevilla and dipladenia into the same category. The plants are VERY different in appearance. One has large, rippled leaves up to 6 inches long and 3 inches wide, with large blooms in pink, light pink, or white. It is the traditional mandevilla.
The other plant has small, smooth, shiny leaves up to 2 inches long and smaller blooms in more intense shades of hot pink to red. It was called dipladenia. I have this latter type.
I have found the best time to propagate the vines here in Missouri is mid-summer. I put cuttings under plastic and they root fairly quickly. Mine continue to bloom all winter in the greenhouse, and all summer in the landscape.
Both types... read more get much taller than listed in the details...about 10 to 12 feet for both. Of course, you can allow it to loop back down on the trellis to keep it at a lower height.
Also, for those who are new to this plant: Don't cut back the long, stringy tip growth that appears. This will set leaves and flower buds after a while. (I kept pruning mine back to keep the plant compact, and then wondered why it would not bloom!)

On Jul 24, 2004, fleurdelys from montreal,
Canada wrote:

This is to answer the leaves yellow and falling off problem, perhaps overwatering might be the problem.With regards to aphids and such, in my experience, I have discovered a natural pesticide/immunnity builder call neem oil.If you get it in concentrated form it is inexpensive and really works, it kills the eggs of the pests before they have a chance to hatch and boosts the immune system of the plant but do not spray actual flowers.The flowers don't like to be coated with the stuff-it stains them but it makes the leaves beautifully shiny.

On May 7, 2004, YardKat from Gillett, TX wrote:

My recently planted Mandevilla dipladenia's leaves are turning yellow & falling off. We have clay soil, but I've added compost when planting. Can anyone HELP -- before I lose these beautiful plants?? I have four of them.

On Oct 20, 2003, chrislyn from La Porte, TX (Zone 9a) wrote:

I think Mandevillas are beautiful but I planted 3 or 4 last year in my yard and none of them survived. Well, they did until cold weather came and they never returned. I have a new one on my patio in a container and it is surviving..pretty blooms but it is still small.

On Oct 16, 2003, Mere1321 wrote:

I was given my Mandevilla as a gift about 4 months ago and it was a wonderful addition to my sunroom. Plants help even the coldest days in Vermont seem wonderful. However, my experiences dramatically changed about 1 month ago when it became infested with Aphids! I can't get rid of them. If anyone has suggestions for saving my lovely plant I would love to know!

On Jul 16, 2003, Mkissel from Bethlehem, GA (Zone 7b) wrote:

I purchased a Mandevilla last year and overwintered it in a pot in the basement. I transplanted it in April/May (after the last frost) to a southeastern exposure next to my house.

It's a prolific climber and needs a trellis or other form of support! Blooms have developed in threes and seems to enjoy the pine straw mulch used to maintain moisture. It also attracts hummingbirds!! Another nice addition to the yard. I am going to try to overwinter with heavy mulching outdoors this year.

On Jun 30, 2003, roof57mi from columbia, SC (Zone 8b) wrote:

I found a Mandevilla at a local outdoor nursey here in Michigan, and the only thing it had to identify it was a stick saying "Mandevilla Pink". The salesperson didn't know much either, so this site has been very helpful. I am a apartment dweller and not a master gardener, but love plants, herbs, and container garden profusely!! I will take pictures in the future and post. THANKS FOR A GREAT SITE!!

On Jun 21, 2002, moscheuto from Westland, MI (Zone 5a) wrote:

Dipladenia is also known as Mandevilla, named after the 18th century British diplomat and gardener Henry Mandeville. It is a native of South America. particularly the Organ Mountain forests near Rio de Janeiro.

Additionally, it is also known as Dipladenia mandevilla, and the genus Mandevilla includes plants that were formerly called Dipladenia.

Botanically they are all Mandevillas, but tradionally this plant has been called Dipladenia, having smaller leathery leaves and have very little climbing habit.

Usually they are grown as a container plant or a semi-hanging basket. The original Dipladenias were a very pale pink flower and were discovered in the highlands above Rio de Janeiro.