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Mandevilla Trellis Ideas & Care Tips to Grow Stunning Plants

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Have you been looking for creative ways to support your Mandevilla plants? These vining beauties need a support in order to truly showcase their potential. Keep reading to discover some easy to implement Mandevilla trellis ideas, and I’ll also share some care tips for your plants!

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MANDEVILLA TRELLIS IDEAS

Whether you have your plants in the ground or in pots, here are some Mandevilla trellis ideas. I’ve grown Mandevilla plants for many years and I’m sharing with you some photos from my own garden.

1. Create a support structure out of bamboo

In this raised bed, I planted some Mandevilla plants in the middle and surrounded them with impatiens. I simply inserted six, 6 foot tall pieces of bamboo into the soil and tied them on top. Super easy!

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If you look closely in the photo, I also took clear fishing string and tied them horizontally (like rungs on a ladder) across the bamboo in order to provide additional locations for the vines to climb.

Right after planting, I manually took each vine and gently wrapped it around the bamboo to get it started. Eventually, the plant will naturally wrap itself around the structure.

2. Place a horizontal support between 2 pots to make an arch

In this case, I purchased two Mandevilla pots that already had 3 bamboo stakes inserted in them and tied on top. You can also insert them on your own if your plants didn’t come with them. You will need them for this project.

At this point, I simply laid a piece of bamboo on top to connect the pots, and tied them together securely with twine. Take a look at the photo below.

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After 3 months, this is what this setup grew into. The vines completely covered the horizontal bamboo support.

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As the plants grow, you’ll have to help them along occasionally by manually wrapping the vines around the support, and tying them if needed.

3. Grow up a post and use fishing string for additional support

In this example, I have another Mandevilla plant with bamboo stakes inserted into the pot and tied on top like in the previous example.

In this case, however, I placed the pot right up again a wooden support of a pergola structure. As the plant grew, I tied the vines with clear fishing string to support and contain the plant.

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Once the vines reach the top, I started to train the plant horizontally by using clear fishing string.

You can see in the photo below, I have a pink Mandevilla on either side of the pergola.

In the top horizontal wooden face of the pergola, I simply hammered some small nails and ran clear fishing string along the top.

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My pergola in our back garden, loaded with plants.

As the vines grew, I would wrap them around the fishing string. This creates a beautiful floral arch! You can really get creative with clear fishing string.

I hope this has sparked some ideas for your own garden, so get creative! Now let me talk a bit about Mandevilla care and what they like so you can keep them blooming and happy.

MANDEVILLA CARE

Here are some basics of Mandevilla care.

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LIGHT

Mandevilla plants are sun-loving, so be sure to give your plant at least a half day of direct sun (more is better) wherever you put them outdoors.

If you have them in too much shade, blooming will be compromised and no one buys these plants just for the foliage.

POTTING MIX

Freely draining potting mixes are very important for these plants. A good mix to use would be 2 parts all-purpose potting mix and 1 part coarse sand.

Excellent, sharp drainage is a must for this plant.

WATER

Regular watering is important, especially during hot, dry, summer days. Always feel the soil though before watering. I like to allow the top couple inches of soil to dry out before watering again thoroughly.

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An assortment of plants in my back garden, including a pink Mandenvilla climbing on the pergola.

Never water if the surface of the soil still feels moist.

FERTILIZER

Mandevillas grow quickly and need plenty of fertilizer for best performance.

I’d recommend regularly using a good fertilizer like Miracle Gro Bloom Booster for an abundance of flowers all summer long.

TEMPERATURE

When purchasing Mandevilla plants, resist the temptation to buy them when temperatures are still cold. Wait until minimum nighttime temperatures are at least 50°F (10°C) before purchasing them.

ROUTINE CLEAN UP

Remove any spent flowers regularly. Once flowers are done, they often fall off onto the foliage, and can create quite a mess.

In order to keep the foliage in good health and help deter pests and diseases, be sure to regularly remove any fallen, spent flowers from the foliage.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post on Mandevilla trellis ideas. The possibilities are endless, so get creative!

Paul & Joyce Hemingway

Tuesday 1st of November 2022

We are in Bradenton Florida and are having no luck with the last 2 Mandeville's we planned. Reading your suggestions our problems sound like it's both lack of Sun and wet soil. So if we keep our new plant in a large clay pot and in the Southside will this be more effective?

Raffaele

Tuesday 1st of November 2022

Yes, that should do the trick! They need plenty of sun to bloom. Just be careful of the terra cotta pot because they can dry out super quickly, unless yours is really big.

Beth Wessel

Tuesday 5th of July 2022

Thank you for all the information about Mandevilla. I just got my first one. The roots are showing at the top so I know I need to repot it. Is it possible to split the plant while repoting it? It is quite large and I will be pruning it way back this Fall as I live in Minnesota.

Raffaele

Wednesday 6th of July 2022

If it's really root bound, it might shock the plant if you try and divide it. I would recommend not dividing it.

Gary

Sunday 12th of June 2022

Hi - I live in SC - Columbia - I think Zone 7 `- Do I need to not plant mine in the ground? Do I need to put them in the greenhouse in Winter? I don't want to lose these plants in the Winter and this is my first time with these. They are beautiful flowers for sure.

Raffaele

Monday 13th of June 2022

Hi Gary! They won't survive in zone 7. They are tropical plants so you should move them into your greenhouse if you want to carry them over through the winter.

Beth

Friday 3rd of June 2022

This is so helpful and your garden is stunning! Just bought my first Mandevilla today...excited to see what happens! I'll be trying the bamboo trellis.

Raffaele

Sunday 5th of June 2022

Glad you enjoyed the post, and good luck with your mandevilla! They add a nice touch to any garden :-)

Pat

Wednesday 25th of May 2022

Thanks for your great article on Mandevillas! - We're about to plant one into a large clay flower pot, (approx.15 gal.), and wonder how deep the roots grow on these plants? - I'd rather Not fill the entire pot with expensive 'Potting Soil, if I could add some type of 'Filler' to the Bottom Portion, provided that they don't grow Deep Roots. - (Any suggestions will be appreciated, and Thanks Again!! )

Raffaele

Thursday 26th of May 2022

Hi Pat! That's a great question! In my experience they don't grow super deep roots, and yes I do have a suggestion for your large pot. What I do for super big pots to save on soil is turn a rigid pot upside down (like another clay pot, ceramic pot or, even a thick, rigid plastic pot) and place at the bottom of your large clay pot, and then fill start filling with soil. Since you're using a clay pot, that's great since it's preferable that their soil dries out pretty quickly. I hope this helps a bit, and good luck!