How to Start a Mandevilla Vine

Mandevilla is a tropical vine.

Cuttings from the stems, leaves or roots of some varieties of plants have the ability to produce their own root systems and grow into a new plant. These plants are clones of the mother plant. Mandevilla, an evergreen flowering vine, grows readily from cuttings taken from the hardwood stems in the spring and early summer. Starting your own tropical mandevilla vine from a cutting provides an inexpensive way to add more of these plants to your landscape.

Things You'll Need

• Knife
• Peat moss
• Vermiculite
• Plant pot
• Rooting hormone
• Plastic bag

Instructions

1. Cut the top 4 to 6 inches off the tip of a mandevilla stem, using a sharp, clean knife. Choose a stem tip that contains at least one leaf bud or leaf.

2. Combine equal parts peat and vermiculite in a 5-inch diameter pot. Water the peat mixture until it's thoroughly moistened and the excess water begins to drip from the bottom drainage outlet.

3. Coat the cut end of the mandevilla stem in a rooting hormone. Rooting hormones prevent fungal infections on the cutting and encourage the stem to put out new roots quickly.

4. Push 1 to 2 inches of the cut end of the stem into the peat mixture. The leaf node or leaf must be above the soil surface.

5. Place the pot in a clear plastic bag. Gather the top together loosely, leaving a small opening to allow air circulation.

6. Set the pot in an area that receives all-day sunlight. Maintain a temperature of 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit in the pot's location.

7. Water the peat mixture if it begins to dry out, keeping it moist at all times. New growth and rooting occurs in approximately four weeks.

Tips & Warnings

• Transplant mandevilla starts to their permanent bed or pot the spring following rooting.

References

• University of Florida Extension: Mandevilla Production Guide
• North Carolina Cooperative Extension; Plant Propagation by Stem Cuttings: Instructions for the Home Gardener; Erv Evans, et al.; January 1999