Melinda's Garden Moment: Overwintering Mandevillas Dipladenias

Gardeners love to save plants from year to year. The frost sensitive mandevilla (Dipladenia) is at the top of many gardeners’ list.

Check for insects and quarantine your plant for a few days, better yet weeks, before adding it to your indoor garden. Then grow it like your other houseplants. Place your mandevilla in front of your sunniest window and water thoroughly as the top few inches of soil begins to dry.

Don’t be alarmed if your plant starts dropping leaves as it adjusts to the new location. New leaves should soon appear. Don’t fertilize until late winter unless your plant starts producing new growth or shows signs, such as pale leaves, that it needs fertilizing.

Or store your plant in a cool, frost-free location for winter. Water your dormant plant occasionally to prevent the roots from totally drying out. In spring, move the plant to a warm sunny window, start watering regularly and fertilize with a flowering plant fertilizer.

A bit more information: The glossy green-leafed Dipladenia is often referred to and sold as Mandevilla. It is in the same family as the plant botanically named Mandevilla which has larger leaves and flowers. Both require the same basic care.

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About Melinda Myers

Gardening expert, TV/radio host, author & columnist Melinda Myers has more than 30 years of horticulture experience and is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. She has written over 20 gardening books, including Can’t Miss Small Space Gardening and the Midwest Gardener’s Handbook. She hosts the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment segments which air on over 135 TV and radio stations throughout the U.S. Myers is also the host of the recently released The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” DVD series. Melinda writes a regular column for Wisconsin Gardening and Chicagoland Gardening magazines. She also writes the twice monthly “Gardeners’ Questions” newspaper column. Melinda hosted “The Plant Doctor” radio program for over 20 years as well as seven seasons of Great Lakes Gardener on PBS. Melinda has a master’s degree in horticulture, is a certified arborist and was a horticulture instructor with tenure. She’s the recipient of the American Horticultural Society’s B.Y. Morrison Communication Award and was inducted into the Hall of Fame of GWA: The Association for Garden Communicators. Myers’ website, www.MelindaMyers.com, features gardening videos, podcasts, monthly gardening checklists and more.