Different Ways to Display a Mandevilla Vine

Bushes and Shrubs

• The mandevilla plant will entangle itself as it grows onto other vegetation. If you have some unkempt shrubs in front of the house, plant a vine near them and allow the mandevilla to grow over the bushes. This will disguise the shrubs in the summer and add a touch of the tropics to the landscape. Mandevilla vine also adds a lush look when grown over a hedge. It can drape and swell over the hedge, lending a swag of pink or white tones to an otherwise dull green expanse.

Lattices and Arbors

• Mandevillas are made for lattices and arbors. The vine will creep in and out of the slats in a lattice and create a wall of color. Older, longer vines can be trained up and over an arbor. The plant is not like an ivy with attaching feet or a grape with tendrils that twirl and grab. Instead it swirls as it grows and spins around anything that is near it. You can even train it to curve along house eaves, but you will have to provide it some hooks from which to hang.

Mailbox and Sign Posts

• The mandevilla vine is such a prolific bloomer that it becomes a full, thick plant in no time. The plant is perfect for hiding the less attractive parts of your landscape. You can plant two or three of them against an ugly old fence in a sunny location and they will grow up and out, covering the wood in tropical beauty. Train the plant to twine around a mailbox or sign post. With a little assistance, they can also grow up a telephone pole or any other eyesore in your vista.

Hanging Baskets

• Mandevilla vine can be pinched back for use in hanging baskets. Pinching just before a growth node will cause the plant to branch out and create a bushier look. The vine will grow more shoots when you pinch off the tips of the vines. Alice du Pont is a mandevilla commonly grown in hanging baskets. Mandevillas that are grown in containers are easy to overwinter, too. Pinch or cut back the vines to 12 inches and move it indoors. The plant should not be fertilized during winter and should dry out between watering.