My Mandevilla

Hi all, first time on this particular forum and I need your help. I brought my Mandevilla in for the winter in October and thought I could keep it healthy under grow lights but I believe it is too dry in my house for it and it's losing it's leaves. Is it too late to cut it back and let it go dormant for winter? It has two new shoots on it and I'm afraid I will kill it if I cut it back. Anyone have experience with this plant that can help me? Thanks so much..

I hope someone will come along and help with this one. I have trouble holding them over unless I keep them in the upstairs east window and give them lots of water. I've cut mine back and the one upstairs is doing great. The ones in the basement under lights look like they are on their last leg. I just can't keep everything upstairs.

Mine always lose their leaves when brought inside.. I just cut it back, water occasionally, give it the best light I can and move it back outside as soon as I can come spring.. I just try to keep it alive, and once back outside they will come out and thrive..
Larkie

Thanks so much. I'm crossing my fingers that I can keep my white one alive until next year since it didn't bloom for me this year.

So, what should I do, cut the old growth back and keep the new growth? Or cut the whole thing back and put it in the basement?

I keep mine in a cool g-house (heated to only 50 at nite). I imagine it gets more light than your grow lights give yours but all the same I've noticed it will often lose leaves. It survives just fine with a watering here and there. (If you have any good tip growth you should clip them and root them, just to give you a good back up plant.)

How big is that plant anyway? If you cut in back by half will that leave any leaves or greenery on it? If so, that may certainly help reduce transpiration.

It looks to me like the old growth is losing its leaves and the new growth is ok...

Edited to say that this was on a different trellis and I had to put it on a smaller one to bring it in, that's why it's hanging off...

This message was edited Dec 16, 2003 11:34 PM

The best luck I've had overwintering them is in a bright
sunny window and lots of water. The one I have now is
5 years old and last winter it sent up lots of new growth
and kept it's leaves. The other methods I tried left me
with either a dead or very weak plant come spring.

I've kept one in the warm greenhouse and the other in the walled in patio room and I am finding the second is faring better than the first...Elaine

brought mine in and chopped it back to the first node. It sprang to life again. It is in a room where there are growlights. It does fine!

I cut mine back and put it by a window, it's getting new growth already

Looking good.

Cut my yellow one down Oct, but no new growth. It already was failing a bit when I brought it inside. I water it once a week or so, but does not look good. Hopefully the roots still have life in them and show new growth by spring.

Mine looked so bad after bringing it in, I almost threw it back out! It lost EVERY leaf!
Kept watering & just in the last wk has it showed some signs of life.
This is my first one & just knew it was too tender to be outside in temps in the 30's.

djm906, in my greenhouse plant overwintering business, I had a yellow mandy that someone gave me to care for last year. It looked pretty sad when I picked it up, I think he should have put it in his garage before it got too cold. It croaked, but the owner said he didn't think it would make it from the first. So, no reflection on me. This year the same client had another yellow one, and put it in his cool porch entryway when they were calling for frost. His other "mandy's" were fine, but the yellow one must have gotten nipped, and was pretty much dead when I brought it to the g'house this fall. I'm thinking that the yellow ones must be way more tender than the pink and white ones. Any discussion on this theory? BTW, I cut my own pink one back a couple years ago when I brought it in and killed it. Don't know what the problem was, as other people cut theirs back just as much and they shoot out new growth like mad. Live and learn, I guess. :>)

I have cut them back when bringing inside, never saw them again! This year, put in basement GH. Have had to trim it back twice already, should try and start some cuttings. It keeps growing up and around the florescent light, grabbing hold of them. It is the Ch. Cherry.

I actually ripped mine out of the ground after it got killed back by frost. I thought it was compost, but I noticed it has tuberous roots so I figured, what the heck? So I potted it up and cut it back. One vine to the ground and one to above the first node. I brought it inside and barely watered it if at all. It sprouted from the node and from the ground and has a few shoots about 4 inches long right now. It is the regular pink one and is inside in my kitchen by the way.

This message was edited Jan 21, 2004 3:13 PM

So maybe it is possible the yellow mandys are a bit difficult to winter over. The pink ones I brought in are doing fine, but that yellow one! I bought it in the summer from a nursery. It was about 6 feet tall and came with a 5 ft trellis in a large heavy pot with its arms waving all over! Was full of blooms, but started slowing down by the beginning of Sept. And now, I don't know, but I am watering it sparingly, just in case!!! Should I maybe dig up the root and see if there is any life in it?

I don't see any harm in poking around a little. It would be interesting to see if the tuberous roots are still firm. Maybe they sleep during the winter more than the pinks?

I have a pink vine and have seen the white ones. I didn't know they are in yellow too. Any other colors? Or variegated?
Teresa in KY

white? lol

Last year I wrote this forum because I had a terrible fungus on my beautiful Mandevilla. I had to cut it back because the fungus was so bad that it was suggested that we clean the treillace with a mild clorox and water. It was completely black. You brush it on with a toothbrush. Of course, it didn't do too well for the plant. We had to completely cut it back. I thought it was dead. The weather got warmer and Mandy started to grow back. She's still not a thick as she was last year, but I think next year she will do better because I treated with a systemic and spray it with pesticidal oil. She's beautiful. Look see.