Sunday, June 7, 2009

A Little Extra Help


Mandevilla is on my shopping list every year. I usually opt for white. I try not to buy it too early in the season because it can only be left outside after nighttime temperatures consistently remain above 55F.


I always repot my mandevilla so that it can climb up the trellis that I already have. It requires some unwinding from the support that is provided in the nursery pot and sometimes that takes a while so a little patience is required. Often times, you can buy the mandevilla in a good-sized pot with its own small wooden trellis and there's nothing at all wrong with leaving it just like that. I saw a whole bunch at Home Depot a couple of weeks ago--healthy plants at a price that was well below that of the area nurseries.


I unwound this white mandevilla and planted it in my pot with my green wire trellis. The plant was sort of drooping forward and I thought it might need some immediate help locating its support. So I got some garden tape and loosely tied several of the plant stems to the trellis to give it a helping hand. Now there's no stopping it.


















5 comments:

Louise @ Buddy Garden said...

After seeing how beautiful your Mandevilla was last year I went to home depot and got one few weeks ago. I agree that it should only be brought outside when it's warm because mine didn't take off until these couple of weeks. I think mine is a different kind of Mandevilla because the leaves are smaller and looks different. I'll post the pictures soon.

Miriam said...

Louise: I'll be curious to see pictures of your mandevilla. Our Home Depot had a terrific inventory of plants this year. I was very impressed. And the prices always beat the nursery.--Miriam

Karl said...

Just your brother dropping by the site to check out the latest. Looks really great. Hope the summer is a productive season for you. Talk to you soon.

NightVision said...

I love the plant but I was under impression that it is a perennial. I have not bought it just for the fear of maintaining it over the winter. Have you managed to care for it during winter?

Miriam said...

Dear Night Vision:

Thank you for your comment. To answer your question, mandevilla does not survive the winter outside--at least not in my zone. I treat it as an annual. My friend in Pennsylvania kept one alive for many years by moving the plant inside over the winter to a room that got some light. Unfortunately, I don't have space to overwinter plants inside. --Miriam