Dipladenia is a climbing plant, a powerful vine with glossy foliage, growing rapidly when it benefits from good conditions. It is a plant native to South America, areas where it is hot all year round… And in our climates, in France, it is generally advisable to grow it in pots. Dipladenia is a frost-resistant plant, and to develop well it needs heat all year round. In the regions most favored by a mild climate, it will be possible to cultivate it in the open ground but exclusively in a very protected situation.

Botanical name:

• Mandevilla spp.

Plant type:

• Cycle:  Perennial plant
• Foliage:  Evergreen
• Hardiness:  Non-hardy plant (frost-resistant)
• Family: Apocynaceae – Apocynaceae
• Habit:  Climbing plant
• Exposure:  Sun
• Sowing:  April under warm shelter
• Planting:  April – May
• Flowering:  June to October
• Rooting:  root system
• Cultivation zone:  in open ground 9b to 10 (see  hardiness map ) – in pots everywhere.
• Origin:  South America – Argentina
• Melliferous plant: no

Features:

• Plant very easy to grow
• Indoors, avoid exposure to the sun through a window. Dipladenia appreciates outdoor sun exposure, but could suffer behind glass.

What are the benefits of the garden?

• Superb and long flowering.

What exposure?

• Sun in the ground, dipladenia resists well to drought.
• Indoors: watch out for direct sunlight through a window.

What soil  for dipladenia  ?

• Plant it in any type of  humus and drained soil.
• In a pot, mix geranium soil and sand

When to sow seeds?

• Sowing in spring under hot shelter , 20°C, in April.

How to sow dipladenia seeds:

• In a soil for geranium.
• Place a few seeds per cup.
• Cover with very little soil.
• Water well and keep the soil moist until emergence.

When to plant it ?

• Plant it in the spring, once the soil has warmed up: In May or June .

How to plant dipladenia:

Planting in the ground?

• Place the dipladenia.
• • Backfill with the mixture Work the soil to a spade height without turning it over
• Scrape the dipladenia root ball and immerse it in a bucket of water.
• Amend the soil with potting soil for geraniums and do not hesitate to add sand for drainage.
• Prepare the planting hole.
• of garden soil and potting soil.
• Water.

Planting in a pot?

• In a large pot (40 cm)
• Fill it with a mixture of special geranium soil and sand.
• Place the dipladenia after having scraped the root ball.
• Tamp down and water well.

Division / Multiplication of Dipladenia:

• Multiplication by sowing (see above) or cuttings in early summer

How to take dipladenia cuttings:

• Select young shoots of 10 to 15 cm maximum.
• They should have two pairs of leaves and a bud.
• Cut the shoot just below the lower leaves and remove the 2 lower leaves.
• In a pot filled with a well-packed peat, planting compost and sand (40%/40%/20%) mixture.
• Position the shoots by pushing them down to the leaves.
• Water and cover the cuttings with a plastic bottle, the neck of which you will have cut out beforehand. You can also use a freezer bag to close around the jar with an elastic band.
• Place the cuttings in the light.
• Uncover the cuttings after 3 weeks.

Maintenance :

• Watering:  Dipladenia grows very well in the ground in drought conditions. In pots, on the other hand, care must be taken to keep the soil moist.
• Remove faded flowers  to boost flowering.
• • Fertilization:   especially for potted crops once a month.

Flowering of dipladenia:

• Superb  summer flowering from June until October.

Varieties:

• Dipladénia Sanderi “Rosea” : Beautiful pink flowers with a yellow heart.
• Dipladenia  “Sundaville Red” : Beautiful vermilion red flowers.
• Dipladénia “Alice du Pont” : Dense pink flowers with a yellow heart, or white flowers tinged with pale pink.

What to plant with dipladenia?

• Other summer flowering plants, in pots to decorate terraces.
• In the ground, why not mix several varieties of dipladenia?

Use of bluebell?

• In the garden:  On a support, trellis, stake, fence…
• Without a garden:  In a large pot to overwinter.