Winterize Mandevilla
I currently have a beautiful Mandevilla and would like to preserve it for the winter months. I live on Long Island NY. any tips?

There are many varieties of Mandevillas,including varieties formerly known as Dipladenia. The old fashioned variety Mandevilla x amabilis Alice du Pont has fuzzy foliage and bright pink flowers, grows vigorously. Among other cultivars Mandevilla splendens (Dipladenia splendens) has a dark glossy leaf. Both are grown trellised and have a tendency to vine. These species of tropical vines winter over only in the tropical South. They tolerate a minimum temperature of 45-50F at which time growth will begin to slow down. For winter storage keep the plant outside as long as possible before bringing it indoors. Check for insects and use insecticidal soap if needed.
To winterize the plant; either treat it as a houseplant or store it in a dormant stage.
Mandevilla as a houseplant can be trimmed back to make it manageable and needs a sunny window to flourish. Water once a week. You will get some leaf drop due to lower light and humidy indoors.
Another way to winterize mandevilla is in a dormant stage in a garage or cool basement with temperatures around 45-55F. Cut it back to about 12 inches above the soil line. Treat for insects if any. Keep it dry but not completely dry. Check periodically for soil moisture. It will drop its leaves. The important thing to keep in mind is that you want to keep it alive it through the winter. In the spring some of the old growth may be pruned back and when new shoots develop move the plant to a sunny window. Pinch the new growth to get a bushier plant. Repot in fresh soil and set outside when danger of frost has passed.
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I have a huge trellis of Mandevilla….I live in Pennsylvania…what do you suggest on covering it outside when the temperatures drop. It is so big it would be impossible to bring it in.
more info…
Start new cuttings
Hi Kris, I live in Michigan and a recently purchased a Mandavilla vine. I actually have a couple of questions. I have read that you can overwinter your mandavilla vines indoors during winter months but I would like to know If I should cut it back, fertilize, and will it bloom while inside like my tropical hibiscus? Also if I do have to cut it back, what is the easiest way to start the new cuttings? I have already tried once using rootone and it did not work. Sonya
Pruning for winter
I have a Mandevilla vine also and have read the comments on cutting back for winter…my fear is that cutting it back so much will kill it. I have a large, bushy vine in a pot wrapped around bamboo stakes to give it the bush shape and then on a trellis too . If I cut it all back to the 12 in., is there a chance I will kill it?
I will be keeping my Mandevilla in a greenhouse for the winter. Do I still need to cut it back if it is kept at a higher temp with more light?
I just purchase a mandevilla trellis and did not realize its a tropical plant. I live in Richmond Virginia and wanted to know if I can plant it in the ground outside? Would it come back in the spring? Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.
I am in Austin,Tx. I have a young Mandevilla in a 1 gallon pot. Should it be put in the ground and mulched, or placed in a larger pot and wintered over?
Greg
I successfully wintered my Mandevilla here in a Boston the plant was far too big to bring into my apartment, so I left it in a low light hallway that gets very cold and at times below freezing. I did not cut or water the plant for 4 months, leaving it adjacent to a heated room. The top 12-16 inches of the vine did die, but the plant came back to its full glory when returned outdoors in May. Keeping my fingers crossed for a repeat.
2006-9-10
I have just brought my mandevilla plant in for the fall.. night temps were 50.. and when I did the leafs began to dry up and fall off Did I bring it in too soon Should I cut it back Now .. ??? thanks again for answering my question. Love this site
Betty
2006-9-26
I live in Ohio and just found out through your site that I have to bring my Mandevilla inside for the winter. It is planted in the ground now. How big of a ball do I dig up to put it in a pot? Thanks learned alot from you already!!
2006-10-15 )
First of all. I love this site and am glad I found it. My question is.. when the Mandevilla is brought in for the winter, do I store it near the brightest spot in the house OR store it in the basement/cellar. I’m confused as to when to do one vs. the other. I have read responses in this chat indicating both methods. (I live in Maryland.) Thanks!!
2006-11-2
I BROUGHT MY GORGEOUS PLANT IN. GOT FREEKED WHEN FLOWERS STARTED DROPPING , PUT BACK OUTSIDE WE HAD A VERY,VERY COLD NIGHT ,(OR TWO) I SPACED AND DIDNT BRING IN. I THINK IT FROZE IT LOOKED LIKE IT DIED SO I CUT BACK HOW CAN I TELL IF IT WILL RECOVER? IF NOT I NEED TO START OVER
Winterize Mandevilla – Hi, I live in Austin, TX and planted 5 mandevillas outside, they are thriving…we are now expecting one additional and unseasonal frost in April, with rain and temps at 35-40 for lows…what should I do?
Just bought my mandevillas in May. Should I bury them in the pot or directly in the soil? I live in North Carolina.
I live in the willamette valley oregon (eugene to be exact) Is there any way to winterize my Mandevilla without digging it up and bringing it in? Can I cut it back and cover the ground with Leaves for warmth? Please help I love this plant and my concern is I have a 3ry old son and 2 dogs and a cat that likes to nibble on leaves (the cat does) he is an idoor cat and I am affraid it my be toxic to my pets if I brought it in>
Store dry root method
I live in zone 5, I have 15 mandevilla plants, including 5 with red blooms, I have successfully winterized them inside for 2 years but I’ve developed allergies to indoor plants. Can I store them by the dry root method in an insulated garage wrapped in newspapers etc.? Or maybe in a box? I do like all of the information you list on Mandevilla’s. Sue
I brought my Mandevilla indoors. It is in a corner and receives sunlight from my front door. I want to treat it like a houseplant until spring as it goes on my front porch. Is that going to be OK?
Dale Hortman ( dayhortman@aol.com
Thanks for all the info I have My mandavillas in the green house for the winter I live in Thomasville GA . Dont you think mandavillas should be okay here for the winter in the ground cut back and mulched heavy?
I winterized my mandevilla. Now I have put it outside. How long will it take to see new growth? Right now it looks completely dead.
Thank you
on my plant just purchased 3 weeks ago…the bottom leaves are turning yellow & droping…is this too much water? help! thanx J
Hi Jo
To re-plant my mandevilla amabalis outside in the summer, should I remove the dead stalk from the bulbs? Presently there is no growth after it successfully grew inside all winter.
No flowers
Hi! I overwintered my mandevilla in the same pot it was in last year. Now it is back outside and looks great: bushy with lots of glossy green leaves and it is growing like crazy. But there are no flowers! I fertilize weekly but I did not change or add any soil to the pot from last year. Any tips to encourage blooms?
I am in Ohio and bought 20 Mandevilla Trellis plants at Walmart and planted and spaced them around the fence surrounding our pool. I wanted something that would vine and cover the fence and get thicker and thicker. Now I find out they may not survive the winter. I can’t dig them up and bring them in because they are vining beautifully and giving the privacy I wanted. I am mulching them heavily before winter. Will I have to start from scratch each year or will they be bigger each year?
I live in Shreveport La. During the summer I grew a beautiful Mandevilla on my trellis. Winter will be here my late December, my ques is should I cut back the plant and just mulch the roots at the base? and will it come back?
I certainly appreciate all the wonderful information on winterizing the mandevilla, but I did this last winter and found that come spring, late spring, early summer I had no flowers. It wasn’t until late August that I got beautiful flowers, but I am hoping I can do something this year to promote earlier blooms. My plants are now perfect, but soon I will lose them with a frost. Help!! and thanks.
I have read the tips about winterizing but I live in North Carolina and have 3 beautiful madevilla vines planted in the ground climbing my back fence. There is a pretty large looking root system. Since the odds are against it surviving the winter outside, can I dig them up, pot them and then winterize in the garage as has been suggested. Will this be too much stress on the plant since i will be cutting off some of the root system?
I am in ontario,canada, i bought my Mandevilla in when it started to get cold, it was doing really well now my leaves have black spots on them.What am i doing wrong?
Wintering mandevilla
I brought my Mandevilla into the house for the winter and placed it under a gro lux light. I leave it on all the time. Many of the leaves are drying up, but it is putting out many small long vine like growths. How much should I water it , and how much, if any, should I prune it , and what about the new vines it is putting out? Enjoy your site and appreciate your comments/advice.
I have a huge deck and every year I put Mandevillas all over it. I have a bamboo arbor in the entrance to the hottub deck and the vines and flowers grow and cover it. It looks like a tropical paradise all summer long. When I bring the plants in for the winter I leave the dead vines intact over the arbor. This gives the vines a very easy place to attach itself the following year. No sticks or props needed, just alittle guiding them when they start. If you want a picture let me know.
yes, send us a picture.
I got a Mandevilla as a gift and I live in Hattiesburg, Ms. Can I plant it in a big pot and prune it like a bush or is it best to plant it in the ground with a trellis and cut it back to the ground each year?
i live in tucson, AZ will the madevilla survive our winter? thank you!
i bought two mandevilla’s 4 months ago. they looked like they were too crowded, so i repotted them in bigger pots and put 6foot pieces of small fencing for them to grow. my flowers are growing very viberant and wild.this was the best thing for me to do. I have never had a green thumb but these flowers has made me understand gardening better.
can i divide my mandevilla’s to have more potted plants?
I should have looked this up earlier! I just bought a Mandevilla from walmart and I also did not know they were tropical. I fortunately haven’t yet planted it so I have a few questions. I live in Lovettsville, Virginia and I have a huge sun room. Lots of windows! Would a mandevilla make a nice indoor sun room plant or should I just go buy a container and have it outdoors during the summer and bring it into the sunroom for the winter? What size container does one need to keep this plant in? Is it going to become overwhelming? Thanks for you help!
This is my first mandevilla and it is beautiful but this past week we have had a tremendous amount of rainfall. My plant is really drooping and not flowering. We finally discovered there are no drain holes in the pot. We did poke several holes for drainage. Is this the reason for the drooping leaves?
I just bought my first mandevilla vine and this will be my first time bringing in a plant from outdoors over the winter (I live in Iowa). I have read every thing on your site on how to winterize the plant, but I have a question as to the general bugs that get in the soil, leaves, etc how do I get rid of those before bringing in? I can’t stand the thought of allowing those creepy crawly things in my house! I also do no chemicals so if there is a “green” way of getting rid of those before bringing the plant in, I would appreciate that way instead. Thank you
I live northern Indiana (only 5 miles from Michigan) and I once wintered-over a Calla Lilly by placing several large bags of leaves (about three feet deep) on top of the plants after the first frost. It worked great. Could I do this same thing with my Mandevilla? Thanks
I recently bought a crimpson red mandevilla plant. I saw it in southern california, fell in love with it and had to drag it back to northern california with me. I am trying ot see if I should plant it to the ground or to a bigger pot, depending on the zone number I am in. I live in San Jose so can you please tell me what zone that is? Does it matter if I were to plant it to a tall pot versus a wide pot? If I were to plant it to the ground, is it sentive to being grown next to another plant (like African lily)? Thanks.
Hi I just purchased a Mandevilla from Walmart, I just fell in love with it. I live in Michigan and was concerned with it being a tropical plant, if it will go into a dormant stage before I bring it into the house for winter. What will be a good insecticide that will also be safe for my pets?
Thanks
Mandevilla winter hardy
I have a question: I just bought a mandaville vine and planted it outside so it could climb up on my porch. I have been reading the other comments about bringing the plant inside for the winter. I live in Wisconsin and I am wondering if mulching the vine heavily in fall and then placing a rose cone over it wouldn’t be enough protection from the harsh winters we can get here. Or should I just dig it up and bring it in the house for the winter. Please advise.
I live in Indianapolis and I winterized my Mandevilla last winter as you recommended. This past summer I took it outside and it returned to a big, beautiful, full plant with georgeous leaves but never bloomed. What have I done wrong and is it worth trying again? Thanks for your help.
I fertilized regularly with 12-4-8. Should I try it again this year and use 10-10-10?
I have just read every one of your questions and your answers. This one I did not see. I live in the NorthEast Georgia area. Zone 8 I believe. My 3 Mandevillas are on the top of a small hill outside the pool. the chain link is what they grow on. I water every day. It has good drainage and they are so pretty they dont even look real. I have the thicker leaf type. We have a harbor near the vines with several electric plugs. I just got 3 clip-on heat lamps with the heat bulbs that will clip on to the top of my fence shooting down on each vine. Can I mulch as you suggested, cut back the vine and cover with plastic at night with the heat lamps shooting down every night and only take plastic off when the sun gets to 45 degrees durring the day? If the day does not get above 45 can i keep the plastic on with the heat lamps?
Pruning Mandevilla
I have a Mandaville and I was wondering if it could be cut in half, it is so big there is no way it will live in my house and I don’t want to kill it. It has wrapped it self and the trelis and I also have stakes in the with it and it has wrapped it self around those also, but I dont’ want to kill it and I am afraid if I cut it back that is what I will do. HELP
My children bought me a mandevilla in June 2009 for my birthday. I live in CO & its Oct. do I wait until all the leaves drop before bringing it in? The weather says its supposed to freeze tomorrow night. Also can I wrap the roots in newspaper & store them in a box or plastic box in basement? I can’t get the plant and container into the basement. Thanks so much
I live in Ind “burrr” clueless, I planted my flower in the ground I will mulch heavy at the roots but should I prune it back before the first freeze? It is just a baby and started flowering in May, my husband weed whacked it and some of it died and some survived, doing ok for now. Thanks
I live in Southern California, Beaumont Calif.. I just bought two Mandevilla Giant White plants. I want to plant them outside, to vine on the block wall.
It does rain here, and some nights get cold. It gets hot in the summer, full sun where I want to plant them. Will they survive, do I have to
bring them inside in winter, when it rains hard or gets cold at night?
I wish I had found this website earlier. There is really a lot of great information. My deal is, due to the danger of frost this weekend, I cut my mandevilla back to about 6″ above the soil line and have it in indirect sunlight in the garage for now. Did I cut it back too much? Also, when I actually bring it in to make it dormant, do I put it in a clear plastic bag and place it in a cool dark area of the basement? I live in WI. Yes, cold.
i live in victoria,bc canada.i have wo beautiful red madevilla vines,it is getting cold at night below 10,i have been bringing in during the night and puttnig back out during the day. my plants are still covered with beautiful blooms how long should i wait to cut back for winter. thank you
Hello, I live in Michigan and it snowed today. I thought I was resigned to my mandevilla dying in the winter, but when I looked outside to see snow and my plant looking wilted I freaked and brought it inside. The leaves are still green and the flowers were doing ok till today when it snowed. Now all the flowers and buds are hanging, the loose vines look wilted and the leaves on them are dead, but the leaves on the main plant are still green. My mom says the whole thing is probably dead and just not showing it yet. Is there a way to know if the roots survived?
I know it’s probably too late, and I didn’t even plan to keep it over winter, but it was such a beautiful plant . . . any help would be appreciated.
I brought my potted Mandevilla’s in lastnight to protect them from an early frost. We had a few house flies and a WASP flying around the room by morning. I had planned to leave them inside for the winter. What’s going on?
I live in Fort Wayne, IN. We have very very cold winters. I want to make sure that if I put my plants in the garage over the winter since I do not have room in my house for all of them. Do I need to prune them down 1/2 the size or to what? Also since I would like to keep them in the garage do I need to cover them? Do I need to do anything with the soil? Then how often in the winter should I water them?
Hi,
I live in Ontario Canada and bought 2 beautiful plants this summer. I have just brought them inside and wrapped them in plastic bag ( dry cleaner plastic film) I have been reading your site and you talk of treating for insects.. A friend told me to wrap in plastic and spray for bugs and leave bag on for a few days. Is this correct procedure for Mandevilla plants? What do I spray for insect? The plants are thriving and in full bloom again. I can leave them in sunny location so do I need to trim them back?
Hello,
I have read all the entries of this post, and I thank youvery much for the clear, precise information. I live in southern central Maryland. We were forecast to hit the 40s – 30s last night, so I btought in my two mandevillas. One is in a pot, so I understand what to do. I dug the other one up, and brought it in. My question is what type of soil should I use for the one that was in the ground? It gave beautiful red blooms all spring/summer, but never vinde. It has plush low growth. I’d love for it to survive the winter indoors. They will both live upstairs next to an East window. Thanks for any help you can offer.
I have a mandevilla that’s new to me & it has new growth at the bottom but the top is turning brown. Should I cut it back or wait? I have given it Miracle Grow & pest ridden it when I brought it in for winter. It didn’t bloom for me either this summer.Thanks for your help.
Unwanted spindly winter growth & slow to bloom
I have a mandevilla that I winterized last winter and it’s healthy except that it did not bloom for me this summer and it also took all summer for it to grow. I fertilized but still no blooms. I bought a baby plant in the spring and that one took off beautifully.
So, now I need to winterize both plants to a “dormant stage”,but while the plant was in so call dormant stage it developed pale new growth. The weather was still not ready for outdoor exposure. Can you give some tips on how to deal with that issue if it happens again? By the way love this site!
I’ve been reading your replies with much interest. What are my chances of saving an in-ground Mandevilla in Oklahoma City? We usually have a mild winter, but will get at least 2 bad blasts after New Year’s. And I read in one of your replies that these bloom on old wood, so could I take this year’s vines, and either mulch and/or cover with a large bell jar after I mulch the roots? Not to leave the glass on all winter, but intermittently, when the weather goes sour? Or will the one or 2 blasts be enough to snuff this plant? Thank you!
I have a mandevilla and it is not doing too well. I live in Louisiana, I have it outside partly shady and it is spiraling up my porch rails. It usually doesn’t get too cold around here till January. It still is just growth, no blooms. I have fertilized it with miracle grow several times and still nothing. What should I do to help it grow and stay alive during the winter. I don’t have a green thumb, but it was one of my mother’s favorite plants before she died so this year I decided to buy me one, but I just can’t seem to keep it blooming or growing for that matter. Thanks for your time.
Thanks for all of the info! We live in Richmond, Va and I gave my mother a Sun Parasol Crimson Mandevilla (Sunmandecrim is part of the discription). We plan to bring it inside as suggested above, etc. BUT the plant’s info /care instruction tag says this is an annual. Does that mean we bought an Annual version of the plant OR is that just becuase it is a tropical plant and not expected to come back unless it is brought in. We will be extremely dissapointed if this variety is actually an Annual and cannot be saved. Do you know?