I remember my first mandevilla. It was the old ‘Alice DuPont’ type with big pink, pinwheel-shaped flowers and coarse foliage. It was a nice vine and served its purpose adding color to my trellis over the summer.
Fast-forward a few years, when I was an editor at Better Homes and Gardens magazine, and I had my next experience. It was a climbing mandevilla with rich red flowers. Though the blooms were smaller than the old ‘Alice DuPont’, there more of them. A lot more! And the foliage was smaller and shinier, so it looked fuller and lusher. I liked it so much, I ended up bringing it indoors for the winter so I wouldn’t lose it in fear I wouldn’t be able to find another the next growing season.
Later, I discovered mound-shaped mandevilla, which opened a new world for me. Rather than growing like a climbing vine, these plants form tidy mounds. They’re perfect for landscape beds and borders, as well as container gardens.
I discovered these mound-shaped mandevilla bring a bunch of advantages over some of the other traditional annuals I’d grown, like petunias and geraniums. It turns out mounding mandevilla had several advantages over these annuals.
Curious about how to use them? Try these ideas!
Fast-forward a few years, when I was an editor at Better Homes and Gardens magazine, and I had my next experience. It was a climbing mandevilla with rich red flowers. Though the blooms were smaller than the old ‘Alice DuPont’, there more of them. A lot more! And the foliage was smaller and shinier, so it looked fuller and lusher. I liked it so much, I ended up bringing it indoors for the winter so I wouldn’t lose it in fear I wouldn’t be able to find another the next growing season.
Later, I discovered mound-shaped mandevilla, which opened a new world for me. Rather than growing like a climbing vine, these plants form tidy mounds. They’re perfect for landscape beds and borders, as well as container gardens.
I discovered these mound-shaped mandevilla bring a bunch of advantages over some of the other traditional annuals I’d grown, like petunias and geraniums. It turns out mounding mandevilla had several advantages over these annuals.
- Mandevilla are more deer and rabbit resistant.
- Mandevilla are more drought resistant.
- Mandevilla are more heat tolerant.
- Mandevilla are longer flowering.
- Mandevilla don’t need deadheading or pruning.
Curious about how to use them? Try these ideas!
- Combine with perennials for a consistent show of color as perennials go in and out of bloom.
- Fill the median between the sidewalk and the street with carefree color.
- Grow in a mass planting for a carpet of nonstop color to frost.
- Line a sidewalk or walkway as a colorful border.
- Mix with other heat-loving annuals like angelonia, pentas, and vinca.
Do you grow mandevilla in your yard? We’d love to see! Share pictures via email at questions@costafarms.com or share them with us on Facebook!
Written by Justin Hancock
