How to Care for Dipladenia Plants in Pot

In the realm of plants, it is common and tedious to reclassify individual plants and often entire genera. This is the case with the genus Dipladenia, which is recognized as a part of the Mandevilla genus at this time.

Plants like mandevilla and Dipladenia are excellent accents in any garden. We discuss how to care for stunning rock trumpets!

Dipladenia Plant Overview

Dipladenia vs. Mandevilla: What’s The Difference?

Mandevilla and Dipladenia are distinct plants, even though they belong to the same genus. Their growing habits help us to differentiate them. For example, a mandevilla vine can reach a height of 20 feet vertically, which is significantly larger than a dipladenia. Because Dipladenia is bushier, it can only vine for a few feet before overflowing.

The variations in the foliage provide further differentiation. The leaves of the mandevilla vine are thin and rough, whereas the leaves of the dipladenia are heart-shaped. Ultimately, the two plants’ blossoms differ in size from one another. Compared to Mandeville, dipladenia flowers are smaller.

Care Guide

It would help if you created an environment that will promote healthy growth once you’ve decided which dipladenia plant to cultivate in your garden. Now, let’s go over the essentials.

Sun and Temperature

Dipladenia requires at least 6 to 8 hours of full light per day in areas where it is planted in the ground. Indirect sunlight during midday is necessary for plants grown in pots to avoid drying out too quickly.

The warm zone 9 through zone 11 climates are perfect for the growth of dipladenia plants. Raise Dipladenia outside in an environment that’s warm enough to reach highs of 70 degrees during the day and 65 to 70 degrees at night.

Keep your Dipladenia plant covered with a frost blanket if the overnight low drops below fifty degrees. To safeguard your dipladenia, bring it inside during the seasons when this occurs regularly. It will be readily killed by Frost. Temperature and direct or indirect sunshine don’t pose any issues, depending on the planting location.

Water and Humidity

Dipladenia requires at least one inch of water each week and may grow in either dry or humid environments. Allow the top few inches of the soil to dry between watering in the early spring. Keep the soil wet overall. Water in containers more frequently because the soil dries out there more rapidly.

For growing a Dipladenia plant, soaker hoses and gradual, low-watering schedules are ideal. Although regularly moist soil is not ideal, hot, dry seasons call for frequent watering. A little dryness is OK in between waterings. When it rains, wait for the soil to dry before watering it again, and avoid overwatering when the weather is colder.

Soil

Soils that are loamy or sandy with good drainage are ideal for Dipladenia growth. Consequently, a potting mix that drains properly serves as more than sufficient. It’s not ideal to have poor soil. Plant Dipladenia after amending the soil with regular garden soil and farm sand. High-quality potting soil is what should be put inside containers.

If necessary, report container-grown dipladenia, moving it to a larger container big enough to fit the plant’s root ball. This requires fresh soil once a year.

The plant secretes latex, which can irritate the skin, so whenever you handle it, wear gloves. pH levels between 6.6 and 7.8 are good for this beautiful plant.

Fertilizing

While most of the growing season doesn’t require fertilizer, dipladenia will produce more flowers if you fertilize it often with liquid plant food during the blooming season.

During flowering, choose a liquid plant food with an NPK of 10–30–20 and administer the fertilizer every few weeks. Repot the plant each growing season with new, fresh soil, as instructed in the previous section, to provide a steady supply of nutrients.

Pruning/Training

Just before the dipladenia plant opens its flowers, pinch off a few of its higher leaves to promote new growth and an abundance of blooms. Right above the leaf node, this will happen. Then, to encourage new development, cut the wasted blossoms from the flower stems with pruning shears.

With Mandevilla-specific plants, take care to train them into trellises big enough to support an established vine. This is explained by the fact that Mandevilla doesn’t grow bushy.

Plants specifically for Dipladenia can be grown on a tiny trellis, but you’ll need to trim the ends as soon as they start to droop. Prune those Dipladenia plants on a trellis to promote a bushy growth habit, even though they have a drooping growth habit.

When the plant becomes too tall, just make the necessary pruning cuts above the leaf node. Align your trimming with times when you’re repotting.

Troubleshooting

Dipladenia doesn’t usually cause problems, but there are a few things to be cautious of. Let’s talk about those now, along with some solutions.

Growing Problems

Most Dipladenia problems stem from fresh air plants growing in the wrong zone, where nighttime lows frequently drop below fifty degrees. Both the trumpet-shaped blooms and the foliage are harmed by this. Instead, put these plants in containers so they can stay indoors over the winter.

If Dipladenia is cultivated in a dimly lit environment, it may have stunted growth and fewer flowers. Move your plant to a brighter location or provide it with a grow light on a schedule to ensure it gets enough sunshine.

Create an area that is rich in organic matter to encourage blossoming, and during the blooming season—which runs from spring through fall—apply fertilizer every few weeks. An excess of organic materials can cause dipladenia. Make sure that the sandiness that encourages drainage balances the amount of rich soil.

Pests

Mandevilla species are eaten by tiny, either black or yellow, aphids. They sap the plant’s ability to generate vibrant blooms by sucking sap from the vines and leaves. In late-stage infestations, result in the curling and fading of the leaves.

Depending on the weather, blast the plant with a powerful stream of water from a garden hose or sink tap to tear the suckers of their pear-shaped bodies. To stop them, apply neem oil sprays or insecticidal soap every seven to ten days. Spraying neem oil during blossoming is not advised since it will repel pollinating insects.

Mealybugs are fuzzy white insects with a resemblance to tiny cotton balls that consume the sap of plants and vines. They also contribute to the defoliation and yellowing of the leaves.

Every seven to ten days, spray insecticidal soap on plants—even indoor ones—after cleaning them of insects with a cloth soaked in alcohol. To avoid burning the leaves, give yourself some time between the two.

Diseases

One of the fungal illnesses that Dipladenia produces in warm, humid environments is anthracnose leaf spot. It can weaken the plant overall and produce fewer blooms when slightly shiny leaves turn yellow and fall off the plant. Mist your dipladenia with fungicide spray, and then reapply once every seven to ten days until the issue goes away.

Water mold, which is responsible for botrytis blight, grows best in chilly climates with heavy humidity or precipitation. It makes the leaves wilt and causes brown tissue to form on them. Spray the entire plant with copper fungicide as soon as symptoms appear. After that, reapply every ten to seven days to prevent infection. Water the base of your dipladenia to prevent the growth of mold.

Your Dipladenia vine’s leaves will have white, powdery patches due to powdery mildew. In humid weather, the fungus that causes the sickness disseminates its spores through the wind. Pruning plants correctly to allow air to circulate to diseased areas aids in disease prevention. Plants should be placed in enough sunlight. On the other hand, horticultural oil applied before flowering may mitigate an infection.

FAQ

Does a trellis support a Dipladenia?

Dipladenia doesn’t require a trellis because of its bushier characteristics, but you can train it to spill over a tiny 2-foot trellis. These are also fantastic choices for growing in raised beds or containers due to their propensity to drape over.

Is Dipladenia a perennial plant or an annual?

Generally speaking, it is annual outside of its zones but perennial inside.

What is the duration of dipladenia?

If it is not exposed to frost, it will endure all year.