Dipladenia is a richly-blooming hanging vine.
Main Dipladenia facts
Latin name – Mandevilla sanderii – Mandevilla boliviensis
Family – Apocynceae
Type – shrub, hanging vine
Length – 10 feet (3 meters)
Exposure – well-lit
Soil – well-drained
Foliage – evergreen – Flowering – Summer
Caring for this plant, from planting to pruning and including watering, will give you magnificent flowers in summer. Follow our advice and your Dipladenia will bloom magnificently!
Dipladenia usually is an indoor plant in temperate climates. However, it’s possible to grow it outdoors as an annual in places where the weather is too cold.
If potted, it is advised to repot every 1 or 2 years, preferably in spring.
The container that was provided upon purchase is often too small to last more than a season. Repot your dipladenia as soon as the blooming is over.
South America is where Dipladenia originated. It therefore requires temperatures of at least 68°F (around 20°C) to thrive.
When growing directly in the ground, temperatures must be high in both summer and winter. Planting is done in spring.
To boost flower-bearing, remove dipladenia wilted flowers often (deadheading).
This plant is best reproduced through cuttings. Another option, layering, also works well, though it’s usually more work.
Dipladenia prefers it on the dry side than on the wet side for its roots. However, when potted, it’s important to not let the soil get too dry or the plant will feel water stress.
In normal conditions, a potted dipladenia should cope with only being watered once a week. But pay attention to signs that may show it needs more water:
In winter or during the dormant season, water less, only once a fortnight, with only very little water. Usually rain covers the plant’s needs so you probably won’t need to water at all.
Indoors, select a very well-lit space for your dipladenia, but not in direct sunlight behind a window.
Finally, bring your dipladenia outdoors from May to October to give it fresh air.
When potted, dipladenia requires a lot of moisture. A good trick is to place it on a bed of constantly moist gravel or clay pebbles, since this recreates the moisture found in its its natural tropical environment.
The usual blooming season for Dipladenia is March to November.
After blooming, its is best to winterize your plant: place it in a cooler but well-lit room.
Dipladenia leaves most often turn yellow when they were exposed to the cold or to lack of water.
If a cottony white substance starts covering leaves, a scale insect colony has appeared.
Dipladenia can also be colonized by mites and ticks such as red spider mites.
Native to the tropical Americas, Dipladenia is a sub-species of the Mandevilla vine. It’s part of the same family as oleander and it blooms in abundance over many months with beautiful flowers.
Dipladenia grows best as a ground-seeking hanging vine, although it’s perfectly possible to train it up along a lattice like its cousin, the mandevilla vine. When left untethered, flowers will cascade down from hanging suspensions or balcony railings and produce a marvelous effect.
Because of its tropical origin, greenhouses with high moisture levels are the perfect growing environment. If you wish to grow dipladenia in apartments or indoors, mist leaves often with soft water. You would make your plant happiest if you tried various techniques to increase indoor humidity.
Hanging suspensions will highlight the flower’s cascading blooms.
Adding fertilizer during the blooming period will increase the number and beauty of flowers.
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I purchased a Rio Dipladenia a couple of months ago and have it in a 10″ pot indoors. It has been a beautiful, wonderful, plant. Beginning about a month ago it about 15 of the stems became like a vine, (continuing from tips of stem), and they extend several feet above the plant. These vines have a few very small leave/s about ever 6″ to the tips. They attach to the other new vines and tightly wrap themselves around each other. A few of these vines have very small buds. Should I clip these vines off? Can they be transplant? Being indoors, I do not have a trellis for them to climb on.
Just bought a Rio dipladenia. I Repotted it and watered it 2 days
ago and it’s already dry. I read that they can withstand water for a while. With that said, when can I water it again and how often ?
Hi Barbara! Yes, dipladenia can go for a short while without water in the sense that it’s better to underwater than to overwater. However, especially in pots, it doesn’t mean you should treat it as a cactus. Best is to dip your finger near the side of the pot and if it’s dry down an inch (2-3 cm), give it a little water. Also, pay attention to signs like sagging or slightly wilted leaves, that’s a good sign you’ve waited just a day too long. Next time, just water a day earlier and it’ll be perfect!