By Grace Broyles
Big Country Master Gardener
Looking for color in the hot days of summer? Well, I have a plant for you! The Mandevilla! The species was named in 1840 for a British diplomat and amateur gardener, Sir Henry John Mandeville. He was sent a specimen by another man who discovered it in Rio de Janiero, where Mandeville traveled for his work. Over the years, a number of different varieties of Mandevillas have been found in Brazil and elsewhere.
This plant is also called Rocktrumpet, due to its trumpet-like flowers, and is in the same family of plants as the Oleander or Periwinkle. And surprise–a small white variety of Mandevilla is native to the southwest part of Texas (Plateau Rocktrumpet), and also to Mexico. Many others varieties are found in the West Indies and South Americas. This plant naturally enjoys the rocky, gravelly, limestone-type soil on slopes to provide good drainage, with a good helping of organic material that is dropped around it, or blown in by the weather.
So, what makes this a lovely plant for West Texas? Its color and its love for sunshine and warmth, and its ease to grow quickly in a pot of sandy, well-draining soil that contains a healthy dose of organic material. It’s also a lovely plant for our area because it can be trained to grow along a fenceline, or on a trellis, up a wall or a pole, or in a planter or a large decorative pot with an obelisk or pole to climb up on. It is happy in partial shade, especially in the afternoons. It produces many flowers of pink, white or red (depending on which variety you buy) on glossy green foliage from late spring through the first frost. And it does better if the top inch or two of soil is left to dry out before watering. (For more flowers, some nitrogen fertilizer may be added to the soil every couple of weeks.)
Mandevillas are vining plants, twirling around wood, metal, and other materials, in a counter clockwise direction for up to 20 feet, if conditions are right, and if planted as soon as night temperatures reach above 50 degrees. It does well in Zones 8-11 and can be a perennial if it doesn’t freeze.
For those with green houses, or a bright partly sunny window, the Mandevilla can be taken in for the winter. The plant should be trimmed down to about 1 foot, but be ready for it to begin growing quickly and vining around other things in your greenhouse or home. The Mandevilla then can be trimmed back to a manageable size, and when temperatures are high enough, placed outside.
For those of us with green thumbs, or soil-stained fingers, we are happy to know that Mandevillas propagate quite easily. Just take a 6-inch or so cutting from your favorite Mandevilla plant below a node, remove all but a couple of leaves, dip it in rooting powder, and place in a pencil-made hole in a small pot of moist well-draining soil. Then tamp the soil around the cutting. After a couple of weeks, gently tug on the cutting to feel for any rootlets holding it down.
Another way to propagate Mandevilla is to take a cutting and place it in water. Remove all but a couple of leaves beforehand. The cutting will form roots and can then be gently placed in a small pot of a well-draining mix of sandy and organic soil. Once the cuttings are actively producing new growth, they can be transplanted to the pot of one’s choice, or in another ideal location of one’s choice, such as around a fountain, in its favorite soil mix.
To add to the loveliness of this plant: Mandevillas are enjoyed by hummingbirds, but not by deer, and do not need deadheading. There are a number of varieties of this plant available in various nurseries and box stores. Each one is unique and has features that provide gardeners with a choice that will bring the most joy to one’s home and garden.
If you have any questions about gardening and plants, call the Taylor County Extension Office at 325-672-6048 or email us at mgardeners@yahoo.com. We hope you visit bcmgtx.org for information on all Big Country Master Gardener events, like us on BCMGA Facebook, and check out training presentations on BCMGA YouTube. We are here to help you.
