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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!

For more detailed care tips, check out my Mandevilla care post.

DARLENE CAMERON

Thursday 29th of August 2024

Thank you so much for your post! I wish I’d read it this spring. 😊 I bought 4 Mandevilla plants this year. 2 are in the ground and 2 are in pots. The ones in the ground don’t look good but I know what the problem is: underwatering, not enough fertilizer and sun. I’m in zone 8a, Mississippi. Will these come back next year if I dig them up and store during the winter? How should I do it, overwinterize them? I have to say that your posts are very informative. I’ve found so many answers.

Raffaele Di Lallo

Friday 30th of August 2024

Glad you enjoyed the post Darlene! Here is another post that I wronte on mandevillas and I have an overwintering section towards the end of the post: https://www.ohiotropics.com/2023/05/15/how-to-grow-mandevilla-in-a-pot/

Alan

Sunday 23rd of June 2024

Thank you so Very much for your post! I am No gardener but I have fallen in love with my plants! I want to put my Mandevillas in the ground, I live in zone 9a and am not sure they will survive winter...as I said, I have just started this journey so I have much to learn! Thanks again!

Raffaele Di Lallo

Tuesday 25th of June 2024

You're very welcome Alan! I'm glad you enjoyed the post, and good luck with your gardening! I wish I lived in a 9a zone :-)

Suzanne

Thursday 2nd of May 2024

I just bought a 2' tall giant peach mandevilla. I will be keeping it in a pot. I read that I will need to repot every year or two. Is this true? Can I just put it in a large pot? Also, if I have to repot, how do you do that when the vines have grown over a pot obelisk or trellis? Thank you!

Raffaele Di Lallo

Thursday 2nd of May 2024

They can be prone to root disorders and rot if you plant in a pot that's too big (due to the soil taking too long to dry out). I would just repot as needed and only go up one or two pot sizes when you repot. Only repot when it is root-bound. It isn't really practical to remove any support once the vines have wrapped themselves around, so I would just keep it. You can always add an extension...but you can deal with that when the time comes (or just prune your plant!) Hope this helps a bit! If you haven't seen my Mandevilla care post, I recommend reading it: https://www.ohiotropics.com/2023/05/15/how-to-grow-mandevilla-in-a-pot/

Angela alaniz

Wednesday 9th of August 2023

I transferred the flowers into a bigger pot. .(removed soil with the flowers and put on bigger pot). Some of the branches turned brown but I bend the branch and there still flexable..Some branches r still green..Just wondering if this plant goes into shock

Raffaele

Wednesday 9th of August 2023

Any plant can go into transplant shock, especially if you removed all the soil. Just keep an eye on it and baby it until it recovers :-)

PJ

Monday 24th of July 2023

Hello Raffaele!

I love those plants in your yard. They look so gorgeous! I have a question. I just planted a few Mandevilla plants a couple of days ago. I placed the planters in front of our house where they get around 5 hours of direct sunlight. We live in Dallas TX where the temperature can get up to > 100 degrees. I am a little worried that they will get scorched by the heat. Should I move the plants to somewhere where there is still plenty light but just not under the harsh sunlight?

PJ

Tuesday 25th of July 2023

@Raffaele,

Yes, they start getting direct sun around noon. I read somewhere that they need 6+ hours of sunlight. But if I follow that guidance, I am afraid they will be scorched if I leave it in the spot of the front house where they will get 6+ hours of direct sun light.

My question is, do they really need 6+ hours of direct sunlight in places like Texas?

Thank you so much!

Raffaele

Tuesday 25th of July 2023

Hi PJ! What time would they get the direct sun? If it's mid-day, you may want to maybe consider moving them because of the heat. Do you have any place where they would only get some morning sun? Or where you would just avoid mid-day sun?