CELEBRATING 26 YEARS! Welcome to my weekly series! THE LANDSCAPE ASK PROFESSIONAL Linda K. Lillie of Sprigs &Twigs Linda K. Lilie has been Prosident of Sprigs & Twigs, Inc. for the last 26 years. She is a graduate of Connecticut College in Botany, an accredited NOFA Organic Land Care Professional, a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national award winning landscape designer for her design and installation projects. Linda: Ihave a Mandevilla plant that has been blooming for the past 2 months. Iknow plants need a period of dormancy over the winter. DoI need to do anything to be sure it will bloom in the spring and summer months? .Gary Thank you for your question about an interesting plant. Your Mandevilla (common name: Rocktrumpet) is a happy plant if you have it blooming indoors in the wintertime! Mandevilla is a tropical evergreen vine with glossy dark green leaves and beautiful 3-5" diameter trumpet-shaped flowers that are pink, red, white or yellow. There are almost 200 recognized species of Mandevilla, mostly native to South America. Mandevilla will survive outdoors only in tropical regions where the nighttime temperatures stay above 60 degrees. It loves hot weather! In our region, it is a houseplant that is brought indoors for the fall and winter where it generally goes dormant. It will like a sunny spot and a location where it will see normal room temperature. Some of the leaves may fall off and Mandevilla generally do not bloom inside in the winter unless you have a lot of artificial light supplementing the natural sunlight. Keep the plant fairly dry in the winter so that it doesn't rot. Cutting back the Mandevilla is best done before new growth begins in the spring. It regrows quickly and the summer flowers bloom on new shoots so trimming it promotes more flowering. As spring approaches and the days get klonger, move the plant into the light and you'll see some growth starting. Pinching back the sprouts once they get a few inches long is a good way to encourage new sprouts that help the Mandevilla grow fuller. Once you start to see growth, you'll want to fecd the plant every several weeks with a plant food that is high in phosphorus and resume watering normally. Since the vine can grow10ft or more in a single season, you'll need to keep it trimmed to fit the space you have. It also helps if you have a trellis or some other type of structure to provide support for the vine and help display its beautiful flowers. Sprigs D&Twigs EMAIL OR MAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO: info@sprigsandtwigs.net or Linda Lillie, Sprigs & Twigs Inc, PO Box 245, Gales Ferry, CT 06335 best SPRIGS & TWIGS VOTED THE BEST BY DAY READERS EVERY YEAR! CELEBRATING 26 YEARS! Welcome to my weekly series! THE LANDSCAPE ASK PROFESSIONAL Linda K. Lillie of Sprigs &Twigs Linda K. Lilie has been Prosident of Sprigs & Twigs, Inc. for the last 26 years. She is a graduate of Connecticut College in Botany, an accredited NOFA Organic Land Care Professional, a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national award winning landscape designer for her design and installation projects. Linda: Ihave a Mandevilla plant that has been blooming for the past 2 months. Iknow plants need a period of dormancy over the winter. DoI need to do anything to be sure it will bloom in the spring and summer months? .Gary Thank you for your question about an interesting plant. Your Mandevilla (common name: Rocktrumpet) is a happy plant if you have it blooming indoors in the wintertime! Mandevilla is a tropical evergreen vine with glossy dark green leaves and beautiful 3-5" diameter trumpet-shaped flowers that are pink, red, white or yellow. There are almost 200 recognized species of Mandevilla, mostly native to South America. Mandevilla will survive outdoors only in tropical regions where the nighttime temperatures stay above 60 degrees. It loves hot weather! In our region, it is a houseplant that is brought indoors for the fall and winter where it generally goes dormant. It will like a sunny spot and a location where it will see normal room temperature. Some of the leaves may fall off and Mandevilla generally do not bloom inside in the winter unless you have a lot of artificial light supplementing the natural sunlight. Keep the plant fairly dry in the winter so that it doesn't rot. Cutting back the Mandevilla is best done before new growth begins in the spring. It regrows quickly and the summer flowers bloom on new shoots so trimming it promotes more flowering. As spring approaches and the days get klonger, move the plant into the light and you'll see some growth starting. Pinching back the sprouts once they get a few inches long is a good way to encourage new sprouts that help the Mandevilla grow fuller. Once you start to see growth, you'll want to fecd the plant every several weeks with a plant food that is high in phosphorus and resume watering normally. Since the vine can grow10ft or more in a single season, you'll need to keep it trimmed to fit the space you have. It also helps if you have a trellis or some other type of structure to provide support for the vine and help display its beautiful flowers. Sprigs D&Twigs EMAIL OR MAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO: info@sprigsandtwigs.net or Linda Lillie, Sprigs & Twigs Inc, PO Box 245, Gales Ferry, CT 06335 best SPRIGS & TWIGS VOTED THE BEST BY DAY READERS EVERY YEAR!