The Mandevilla plant is a beautiful climbing vine with head turning flowers
The mandevilla plant is quite popular among growers in warm climates. The flowers are clustered against the green foliage of the rest of your plants as well as the green leathery vines of leaves. Because the mandevilla plant blooms practically all summer, it is a preferred plant for many gardens as well as potted plants. This is a fast growing plant and does not have a lot of problems with pests. The plant was originally from southeastern Brazil and is salt tolerant to a point. The plant loves the sun for blooming and will take partial shade but this is usually only desirable for the midday sun. The best flowering is when the plant gets at least 6 or 8 hours of sunlight a day. It can survive short dry spells but it needs to have enough moisture and does not like to sit in water. Drainage is very important. If the plant is not put in a pot that drains properly it will die. If you love flowers, you will love this exotic plant. For those living in colder climates, this makes a wonderful potted plant. If given enough light and taken care of, it can be put inside for the winter. If you are going to try and winter the plant inside, you will need to cut it back. Six inches is about right and it needs as much light as you can provide. The vine does not bloom inside unless it has enough light. This is why many people grow them in hothouses and sunrooms. The plant only needs small amounts of water during the winter and you should not fertilize it in the winter months at all. There is a popular hybrid of the plant called the Alice du Pont. It is very similar to the regular plant but it is much bigger except for the leaves. They are smaller and are oval shaped. This plant has the large pink flowers that grow in clusters as well. Both like to be fed liquid fertilizer in the summer and the reward is the beautiful pink flowers. There are two fairly new varieties of the plant. The Ruby Star and Best Red, which are both beautiful plants, are now available. The Ruby Star has petals that are pointed and keeps its red color. The Best Red starts as a red flower and then fades to more of the color of the Alice du Pont. Another related plant, mandevilla snaderei is found in nurseries and at plant retailers. |
This is often called the Brazilian jasmine. Growing similarly to the regular mandevilla, it is a recommended plant for growing indoors or out in the right climate.
Another variety of this exotic plant is the White Delight. They have pointed petals like the Ruby Star but are only a tinge of pink which makes a great contrast if you have the red type as well.
All of these look great if you have a lattice structure and train them to climb it. When they are in full bloom, this is a beautiful sight.
Another variety that was introduced just last year is the Suntory. This Sun Parasol is a deeper red than any other Mandevilla vines you will find.
There are nine varieties of this plant and if you love white flowers you will want to seek out the Sun Parasols Giant White. From red to pink these varieties of the plant are more compact than the regular plant. The branching and the stem section between the nodes of the plant are shorter.
For those who live in the south, the mandevilla is an easy flower to get established. This is because the climate of Brazil, where it is from is much like the weather in the southern U.S. Florida is one U.S. state that is very easy to find mandevilla plant at retail outlets that sell plants. Most of the larger chain garden centers have this plant as do plant nurseries. Top of mandevilla page
