The non-hardy Dipladenia, also called Mandevilla, cannot tolerate frost at all. The tropical plant should be moved to suitable winter quarters in good time in autumn. Even temperatures just above freezing point can cause significant damage to Dipladenia.
What to do if the Dipladenia is frozen?
A frostbitten Dipladenia may be able to be saved by moving it to a warmer location and cutting it back. Undamaged shoots can be used as cuttings to grow new plants. Prevention is better: overwintering at 8-15°C and in a bright location.
Can I still save my Dipladenia?
If your Dipladenia has only been exposed to cold for a short time, you can try to rescue it. However, this does not necessarily have to be successful, because the Dipladenia is very sensitive to cold. Move the Dipladenia to a warmer place, for example a winter garden, and cut the plant back.
If some of the cut shoots are obviously undamaged, then use them as cuttings and grow new plants from them. These young plants probably even have a better chance of survival than the old plant.
How do I overwinter my Dipladenia successfully?
Since the Dipladenia can be damaged at temperatures below 8 °C, bring this plant to its winter quarters at the end of September or beginning of October. For example, a heated greenhouse or a bright winter garden with temperatures between 9 °C and 15 °C is suitable. If you overwinter the Dipladenia in a dark cellar, it will almost certainly not bloom next summer.
The Dipladenia should be bright and neither too warm nor too cold in winter so that you can enjoy the beautiful funnel flowers next season. This means that the Mandevilla is not an easy wintering guest. For this reason, only the particularly beautiful or high-priced specimens are often overwintered.
The most important things in brief:
- not hardy
- very sensitive to cold
- takes damage at temperatures just above 0 °C
- overwinter at 8/9 °C to 15 °C
- necessarily bright overwinter
- slowly get used to the sun and outside temperatures in spring
Tip
If your Dipladenia has obviously been damaged by the cold, an attempt to rescue it is unlikely to be successful. Make sense of the damage and act early next fall.
