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Can you overwinter a mandevilla vine inside?

8 years ago

Hi, This year I purchased two huge red mandevilla vines. They bloomed so beautifully near our front entranceway. I would like to overwinter them. I cut them back to around 12 inches, repotted them and placed them in our family room which faces East. The window shutters in this room are kept down low, so the plants get bright light, but not direct sun. Anyway, do you think I can overwinter my mandevilla vines in this room? I also grow moth orchids in this area and they do really well. Any advice on the vines is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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Comments (3)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years ago
From the NY Botanic Garden: It is always a good idea to prune it back before you transfer it into
your home. Cut the vine back so that it is a comfortable size for your
home–by half is fine–less or more will also work. It will grow slowly
during the winter months. You do not need to encourage growth at this
time of year by fertilizing the plant, just water it when it begins to
dry out.

Sometime in February, give the plant another good pruning and begin
to fertilize it once a month. Mandevilla flowers on new growth. By
pruning and fertilizing the plant, you are working to give it an early
start so that when you place it outside in May or June it will take off
and soon be covered with flowers. If you are growing a mandevilla in
your home, it is a good idea to lower your thermostat to somewhere in
the 60s or low 70s, otherwise it may get too dry.
The second option for over-winter your mandevilla is to allow it go
dormant. Keep the vine outside until it gets nice and cool and then move
it into a cool garage or basement that maintains a winter temperature
above freezing, around 50?F is ideal. In this scenario you should cut
the plant back hard, to about 12 inches. Occasionally give it water so
that it doesn’t dry out, but essentially leave it alone. Bring it inside
when spring is just around the corner and let it start to grow. Then
set it outside and enjoy this beautiful plant throughout the summer.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
8 years ago
I've over-wintered them by letting them go fairly dry before frost hits and pruning back hard before moving them into the basement where they sit on the floor until just before our last frost date. I water ONLY enough to keep the soil from becoming completely dry. I prune them back again and repot (more extensive than potting up - includes a change of soil and root-pruning) around our last frost date and begin to water. When the mean temp is reliably above 55* I move them outdoors and start fertilizing and watering as needed - pretty much a variation on what Pam offered. I've over-winter a LOT of tender perennials (datura, hibiscus, lantana, brugmansia, geranium, colocasia, ........) in this fashion.

Al
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Comments (9)
Lol...just before coming here tonight I looked up Mandevilla. I just put it in search and it came right up. It said to cut back in late winter or early spring just before it sprouts new . Now that might be down south . It also said to clip it back to make a more bushy plant. My oldest daughter bought one for my younger daughter for Mothers Day (My girls always buy for each other on that day..lol) I fell in love with it...She has hers in a shady garden outside....It has grown and bloomed all summer. Beautiful...So I've been on the lookout. I found one last week at WalMart for 7.00. I'm hoping to keep it going this winter in the house. Also while bring it home in the car a vine got broken off. I've put it in water to see if it will root...That might be another way to keep them until next spring. patti
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I live in Zone 8. Last year, I decided after doing the pot shuffle for 3 years to do an experiment and put the Mandevilla outdoors permanently. I covered the roots with about 3" of bark mulch and another 3" of straw, making sure to keep clear of the stalk to prevent pooling, freezing, and rot. I also cut it down to about 1' (I felt really bad about this) Here are the results: Expected: The leaves dropped. Some stems died. Unexpected: The plant came back and was bigger than ever - easily double the potted size. Well, I guess that shouldn't be that much of a surprise now that I think about it... Still, it lived. Point being is that in some of the warmer(ish) climates, you can keep the plant going by giving a bit of warmth to the roots and it will come back. You DO need to protect it from drying cold winds - no different than Confederate (Star) Jasmine, of the same family. You DO need to water it before cold dry spells You DO need to protect the roots with a good degree of mulch. You WILL lose your leaves and possibly some stems, guaranteed, but no big deal. I've done the same for this year, and we've had freezes in the twenties and teens for the last 2 weeks now (quite early for here). I went to check on it today and surprisingly, the majority of the leaves are still intact! Seeing that prompted me to do the search for "Mandevilla Northern Temps Winter Kill"and came across this particular thread. Would be curious to hear experiment results from others.
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Comments (33)
Wow! what an amazing thread for such a beautiful plant, from my experience and what ive seen is that these do fine-- given light-- not cut back at all maybe for height and space convenience near a bright window, preferably south, and it will bloom still, not as much but still something to make you smile in december and january. Then once your area starts to get warm and nights are above 55-65, watch this thing take off! and pinch back for blooms if you like
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Comments (2)
Anything that grows over winter you will most likely prune back in the spring. I would just leave it but check to make sure the stems don't dry out. It will be fine in the basement till April. I have a large one much like you and was going to get rid of it in December until it started to flower! Here is a photo from last week in the greenhouse. I will still prune it back this spring.
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pandora
8 years ago
That is interesting. I've tried twice and they died. I did not do the February prune& repot etc. This gives me new hope. I'll try again next year.

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