Shrub · Apocynaceae
Mandevilla
Mandevilla × amabilis
With full sun and summer warmth, mandevilla turns a bare rail or post into a curtain of trumpet blooms.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
45–90°F · 7–32°C
USDA 10–11
Overview
Mandevilla is the vine that makes a patio feel like a getaway. A fast tropical climber from the dogbane family, it carries big trumpet flowers from summer into fall, exactly when outdoor living is at its best. It reads as a permanent fixture only in zones 10 and 11; everywhere else it plays the role of a seasonal guest, arriving in a pot for summer and coming indoors before the cold.
Where it goes depends on the form you choose. The tall twining Mandevilla dresses a trellis, arbor, or porch post, softening hard lines and framing a doorway or a view. The bushier, mounding Dipladenia settles into pots, window boxes, and hanging baskets, bringing color to a balcony rail or a sunny corner of the steps. Either way, it asks the same of a spot: heat, sun, and steady summer water.
It suits a relaxed, sun-drenched daily rhythm, the kind of plant you notice over morning coffee and again at dusk. One habit shapes where it lives, though. Cut stems release a milky sap that can irritate skin and eyes, so keep it out of a busy walkway and slip on gloves before trimming. Give it light and warmth, and it repays the setting with months of easy color.
Care
The short version: set it in full sun for the fullest bloom, keep it watered through the summer heat and let it rest drier in winter, plant it in rich soil that drains, and offer a bloom feed every couple of weeks while it grows.
Light
Give mandevilla the brightest spot you have, since full sun, 6 or more hours of direct light a day, brings the fullest flush of flowers. It will settle for part shade or bright indirect light, but the display softens, leaning toward leaves as the light fades.
Water
In the heat of summer, keep the soil evenly moist but never soggy, usually a drink every 3 to 7 days and a touch more for a pot in full sun. As the season winds down, let it dry further between waterings while the plant rests for winter.
Soil
Plant it in rich, well-drained ground with humus worked through, or a peat-based mix for pots on a patio or balcony. It is unfussy about acidity across a pH of 6.0 to 8.0, but a container that holds water will spoil the show, so drainage comes first.
Temperature
It is at ease between 45°F and 90°F (7°C to 32°C), the warm range that keeps a summer display going, and it slows as the air cools. Frost ends the season, so bring the pot indoors before nights slip below 50°F (10°C).
Humidity
Used to warm tropical air, mandevilla prefers high humidity. When it moves indoors for winter, cluster it with other plants or stand the pot on a pebble tray so the surrounding air stays comfortable through the dry months.
Feeding
Offer a feed every two weeks through spring and summer while it is growing and flowering. A high-phosphorus bloom fertilizer such as 10-20-10 keeps the color coming, since a heavy nitrogen diet trades flowers for foliage.
Pruning
Shape it in late winter or early spring before new growth, clearing old crowded stems and shortening the rest, and pinch young plants so they fill in for a fuller look. Wear gloves as you work, since the cut stems weep an irritating milky sap.
Repotting
Move it up a pot size every 1 to 2 years, or when roots circle the container, water runs straight through, or growth and bloom lose steam. For a patio plant, a freely draining pot matters far more than a showy oversized one.
Size & spacing
It scales to its setting, from a neat 3 feet to a soaring 3 to 10 feet (0.9 to 3 m) depending on the form, with a spread of 3 to 4 feet (91 to 122 cm). Pair a climbing form with a trellis or post and let it dress the vertical space.
When to plant
Mandevilla keeps to a warm-season rhythm and won't tolerate frost, so let the calendar set the scene. Begin seed or hold overwintered plants indoors in late winter, move the display outdoors once nights stay above 50°F (10°C), and enjoy the flowers from summer through fall.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: late winter to early spring
- Plant: after last frost when nights stay above 50 degrees F
- Harvest: summer through fall
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 10–11
Temperature: down to -1°C
Troubleshooting
For all its easy looks, mandevilla runs into two familiar snags: pests that settle on plants brought in for winter, and a vine that fills out with leaves while the flowers stay scarce. Notice the early signs and the fix is usually simple. Find the scene that matches below, then step in while it counts.
Wilting yellow leaves over soft dark roots in wet soil
When the soil stays wet and the leaves droop regardless, the likely cause is root rot from overwatering. Ease the plant from its pot and read the roots, since firm and pale means healthy while dark, soft, and foul means trouble. Stop watering, repot into fresh fast-draining mix, trim the spoiled roots, and choose a container that drains freely from here on.
Fix:
- Stop watering and let the soil dry out
- Repot into fresh, fast-draining mix and trim away rotted roots
- Ensure the container has drainage holes and discard standing water
Fine webbing and a dull, speckled cast to the leaves
A dull, speckled cast and fine webbing on the leaves usually mean spider mites, which move in on the warm, dry air around plants kept inside for winter. Tap a leaf over white paper to confirm the specks, then rinse the foliage well, undersides included. Follow with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, lift the humidity, and set the plant apart from the rest of the collection until it clears.
Fix:
- Rinse foliage with a strong spray of water, especially leaf undersides
- Treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, repeating per label
- Raise humidity and isolate the plant to limit spread
Cottony flecks and a sticky film along stems and joints
Sticky film and small cottony flecks along the stems point to mealybugs, scale, aphids, or whitefly, all fond of a vine wintering indoors. Look over the stem junctions and leaf undersides to see which has arrived. Touch mealybugs and scale with an alcohol-dipped swab, spray the others with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, and clip away any growth too far gone to save.
Fix:
- Wipe off mealybugs and scale with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol
- Spray with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil, repeating as needed
- Remove heavily infested growth and isolate the plant
A leafy vine that holds back its flowers
A mandevilla that grows lush but withholds its flowers is nearly always short on sun, since full sun is what brings the bloom. Cool nights and too much nitrogen tip it toward foliage as well. Move it into at least 6 hours of direct sun, keep it warm, and switch to a high-phosphorus bloom feed like 10-20-10 to bring the color back.
Fix:
- Move the plant to a full-sun location
- Switch to a high-phosphorus bloom fertilizer such as 10-20-10
- Keep it warm, as bloom slows in cool conditions
Toxicity
Mandevilla belongs to the dogbane family and carries a milky sap that no one and nothing should eat. A curious nibble leaves pets with a mild upset stomach, and the sap can sting skin, eyes, and mouths. Nothing about it is edible, so place it away from grazing animals, pets, and small children, and reach for gloves whenever you cut it.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Mild
A cat that nibbles the leaves usually ends up with a mild upset stomach, some drooling, and perhaps a little vomiting. The milky sap can leave its mouth sore as well, so keep the plant out of a cat's favorite perch.
Dogs Mild
A dog that chews the foliage tends to drool and bring a little back up. Contact with the cut sap may redden the muzzle or irritate the mouth, so wipe it clean and keep clippings off the floor.
Horses Mild
The same irritant sap can unsettle a grazing horse, most often as drooling and a mild stomach ache. Palatability is low, so most horses taste the bitter foliage once and move on.
Rabbits Mild
A rabbit that samples the leaves may drool and lose interest in food for a while. Keep clippings out of the hutch and offer safer greens instead.
Livestock Caution
Grazing animals rarely choose this bitter, sappy plant, though a hungry one could end up with an irritated mouth and a queasy gut. Fence it off where stock roam.
Birds Caution
There is little on record about harm to birds, yet the irritant latex makes it worth keeping out of reach. Treat curious pet birds with a little extra care around the foliage.
People Caution
No part of the plant is meant to be eaten, and swallowing the foliage can irritate the mouth and stomach. The milky sap is the greater nuisance, since it stings skin and eyes, so wear gloves and wash up after pruning.
Wear gloves when pruning or handling cut stems because the milky latex sap can irritate skin and eyes; wash hands after contact and keep cuttings away from pets and children.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Mandevilla arrives under a long roster of named hybrids and series, though a few earn their place in the display season after season. These are the ones worth knowing by name.
Alice du Pont
A timeless large vining type whose deep pink trumpet flowers can carry a display to around 20 feet outdoors.
Sun Parasol series
A much-loved run of free-flowering hybrids across many colors, from compact mounds for pots to vigorous climbers for a trellis.
Red Riding Hood
A vigorous vine that dresses a space in deep rose-red.
Dipladenia (Mandevilla sanderi forms)
The bushier, mounding trade forms with smaller glossy leaves, still sold as Dipladenia yet now grouped under Mandevilla.
How to propagate
For a fuller display or a plant to pass along, cuttings are the graceful route, while seed rewards a patient hand.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Spring through summer · 4-8 weeks
Cuttings are the reliable way to carry a favorite mandevilla forward. In the warm season, take softwood tips of new growth, strip the lower leaves, and set them into a well-drained mix, where a dip of rooting hormone improves the odds and roots take hold in 4 to 8 weeks. Keep gloves on, since the cut stems ooze the same irritating milky sap.
SeedModerate
Late winter to early spring · Several weeks to germinate
Mandevilla will also grow from seed sown in late winter to early spring, though it takes several weeks just to germinate. Most gardeners lean on cuttings instead, since they root faster and keep the named cultivar true to type for a consistent display.
Myths
Dipladenia is a completely different plant from Mandevilla.
These are the same cast of plants, since Dipladenia is only the old genus name and they all sit under Mandevilla today. The trade keeps both words in play to signal a difference in habit rather than genus: the tall twining types are sold as Mandevilla and the bushy, mounding Mandevilla sanderi forms as Dipladenia.