Dipladenia (Mandevilla, Sundaville) – care & overwintering

The Dipladenia is a climbing plant with oval, shiny green leaves and funnel-shaped flowers, which got their name from their funnel-shaped appearance. The plant can be bought in garden shops in different flower colors. It grows and thrives very well in a nice bucket on the terrace, but it also adorns a wall or grows up a fence when standing on a trellis. Unfortunately, due to its origin, it is not winter hardy and cannot tolerate temperatures below 8 °. For this reason, you have to bring them in early because the cold makes their leaves yellow. This beautiful variation in particular is very popular:

Dipladenia Sundaville “Red”, also richly blooming in red, pink and white

Up to this point, however, it blooms tirelessly and delights the owner with its ever new blooming splendor. Most often, the Dipladenia is offered with pink flowers that go into the shade of pink. You can also get plants with bright red or bright white flowers, some even have a yellow colored interior.

Dipladenia belong to the so-called dog poison family, which means that behind their impressive beauty there is also a bit of danger lurking. This type of plant is poisonous in all parts of the plant, so it should not be placed when there are small children in the house. In your curiosity, you could examine the plant more closely, break off a leaf and come into contact with the white milky sap that is emerging. This causes skin irritation and is very toxic.
Warning: Dipladenia is poisonous, its milky sap causes skin irritation, be careful with cats.

The Dipladenia can grow up to two meters high if given the opportunity. So that the plant in the tub initially grows compact, it is prevented from growing in height with a special means. Later, at the age of 2, it can grow up on a trellis, the height of growth can be determined by the flower lover himself.

Location of the Dipladenia

The care of the Dipladenia is not particularly time-consuming or laborious. She likes a sunny spot on the terrace or on the house wall and likes to be protected from rain. If you try to give it a “species-appropriate” location, it will be very grateful and reward the owner with many, many flowers. Such a location should also be protected from the wind, like many other plants from the south of America, it does not like wind or moisture. So this is what the location should look like best:

• Sheltered from the wind
• Protected from the sun
• Rainproof
• Hell
• airy
• Pour moderately
• Great nutritional needs

The Dipladenia will be very grateful to its owner when it is bright and sheltered from the wind and when it rains too much. However, he should make sure that it is still sufficiently airy, because it does not like stagnant air. The large nutrient requirement can be satisfied with fertilizer, which is added to the irrigation water every 1-2 weeks. Dipladenia’s nutritional requirements are particularly high during the flowering period. In August, however, you should no longer fertilize, because then the rest phase for wintering already begins.

If the plant is watered too abundantly, the shoots will develop too strongly and fewer flowers will be formed. Nevertheless, one should be careful that the soil of the plant does not dry out, as it quickly happens in summer and especially in dry and warm weather. If the soil can dry out a bit on the surface between watering, the Dipladenie will thank you very much. She does not like waterlogging, which is why she should also remove the residual water from the saucer or planter.

You can say that the more you fertilize the plant in the flowering phase, the more flowers it will develop, but only if it is only watered a little to moderately at the same time. She would only invest a lot of water in the formation of shoots and forget about the formation of the flowers. That would be a shame, because the beautiful flowers are a real feast for the eyes, no matter what color they are. The flowers are only formed on the fresh shoots, so they can be cut back without hesitation.

The plant can be pruned either in spring, when it is just beginning to sprout, or in autumn, when it is starting to hibernate. Both the side shoots and the general height can be cut back.

Potting soil and repotting

The potting soil should consist of a humus-rich substrate for the Dipladenia. It is important that the water drain off and that no waterlogging can occur. For this purpose, a few pieces of pottery are simply placed over the water drainage hole on the bottom of the pot. If the plant needs to be repotted, it should be done in spring. However, it is not necessary to carry out the procedure every spring when the new pot turns out to be one size larger.

Overwinter

You can find detailed instructions for wintering here . Here is a brief summary:

Most plant lovers want to decorate their balcony or terrace with beautiful summer plants, but don’t have enough space for wintering. If you want to overwinter your geraniums, you need not only the necessary skill but also the necessary space. The Dipladenia also needs space for winter quarters, because it cannot tolerate frost or temperatures below 8 °.

Of course, one would like to cherish and care for such a beautiful plant even when it is resting and would like to recover so that it can develop new flowers again in spring. However, this plant goes into hibernation as early as August, even if it is still full of flowers. Now it is first of all to be vigilant and watch the thermometer. If this month already comes up with cool nights, the Dipladenia must be brought in in the evening. The irrigation must now also be set to “winter operation”. In this case, that means only watering moderately so that the soil can dry out on the surface. During this time, the temperature at the location of the plant should be around 13 °.

During this time, the fertilization of the plant is also stopped. Only in spring, when the plant begins to grow again, can moderate fertilization begin.

Multiplication

If you enjoy your Dipladenia, you might want to cultivate offshoots from it. Spring is also the right season for this. The Dipladenia is propagated by the so-called head cuttings. To do this, the upper end of the shoot is cut with a very sharp knife (wear gloves because of the milky sap) below a leaf knot (pair of leaves). The lower leaves above the cut are removed. This piece of shoot is called a cutting because it is now placed in a pot filled with a mixture of sand and peat. The mixing ratio is 1: 1, the new citizen is then protected with a plastic cover in a warm, but not sunny place. The cutting should thrive at a temperature of 23 ° to 27 °. It is important not to water it too much,

Tips and the avoidance of care errors

Plants are living things and have their own conditions. Problems can easily arise if you do not know them or if you do not have sufficient experience in handling a particular plant. Here are the typical mistakes when using the Dipladenia:

• If the location is too warm during the winter break, the flowers may fail to appear in the next year or only develop a little
• Shorten the shoots before the winter break, the flowers will be formed on the new shoots
• In winter storage there are pests quickly, often control and treat
• Too much water is the reason for plant damage such as rotten roots, especially during hibernation
• A few falling leaves are normal during hibernation, they form again in spring

After the hibernation in February, the Dipladenia is slowly getting used to the active phase again. Now it gets a warmer location that is also bright enough. First of all, a south-facing window can be selected; if the temperatures allow it, the plant is put outside again. Then it is watered regularly again, some fertilizer is added and if the instructions mentioned at the beginning are followed, a rich flower growth will be the reward.

Conclusion
The splendid looking and richly blooming Dipladenia is a joy for every plant lover. Due to their willingness to grow, one should consider that they have to be brought into winter quarters a few months later if they need space. Therefore, the shoots should be kept in check. In addition, this has the advantage that a bushy growth develops and the flowers are formed in abundance. Plants that grow too tall can easily become bare and then simply don’t look so beautiful anymore.