How to Winterize a Mandevilla Vine
Mandevillas are striking in the landscape, with their colorful trumpet-shaped flowers and big glossy leaves. They are fast growers, reaching up to 10 feet in a season. The vine can reach as much as 30 feet long in the southern United States or when grown in a greenhouse. Mandevilla is a native of Brazil and can bloom all summer long. The plant, which is grown in pots or in the ground, is unlikely to survive outdoors when the weather turns cool. Winterize your mandevilla to protect it with either of these two methods recommended by the University of Illinois Extension Service. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Shovel
- Pot for plant
- Water
- Garden clippers
- Supplemental lighting (optional)
- Potting soil
- Water-soluble fertilizer
Instructions
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Houseplant Method
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Bring the potted mandevilla inside before temperatures drop below 60 degrees and treat it as houseplant or put it in a greenhouse.
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2
Dig up a mandevilla grown in the ground and pot it with potting soil before bringing it inside.
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3
Put the potted mandevilla in a spot where it's sunny and water it about once a week.
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Trim the plant with garden clippers as needed.
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Blooming may not occur in the winter due to the shorter days unless supplemental lighting is used, and it may lose its leaves.
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Keep the plant somewhat dry if it goes dormant.
"Just Don't Die" Method
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Bring the potted mandevilla in from the outdoors before temperatures fall below 60 degress. As before, if it's planted in the ground, dig it up and re-pot with potting mix.
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Trim the potted vine back to 8 to 10 inches with garden clippers.
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Wash the vine thoroughly with water. Drench the soil with water to encourage any bugs in the potted dirt to leave the plant.
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Store the vine in a cool, dark space, such as a basement, garage or crawlspace, where temperatures stay about 55 to 60 degrees. Give it water as needed, but keep the soil somewhat dry and do not fertilize.
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Place the plant in a sunny location indoors in the spring. The plant may have already begun to form shoots in its darkened storage space. Pinch shoots from the vine periodically to make it bushy and encourage flowering.
Outdoors in Spring
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Re-pot vines in the spring that are to be grown outdoors in pots and apply a water-soluble fertilizer to promote good growth.
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13
Move mandevillas outdoors when temperatures are not at risk of dropping below 60.
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14
Return the mandevilla grown in the ground to its garden spot
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