Tight on space? Go vertical! If you have a privacy fence with a sunny exposure, you can create a tropical oasis by training vigorous Sun Parasol Giant mandevillas. And if you plant the side facing a sidewalk, the entire neighborhood will thank you for it!
That’s what Paul Schrader in Columbus, Ohio, does each summer. He has transformed a compact urban lot into a tropical paradise that draws visitors and garden tours. He has been growing mandevillas for 30 years, when he first discovered the famous Alice DuPont variety introduced by Longwood Gardens. He bought it at a local nursery and has been hooked ever since. Five years later he discovered our Sun Parasol mandevillas and is part of our Suntory Flowers team, when we’re in Columbus for the big Cultivate trade show.
Here’s how Paul creates his wonder wall each summer:
Prepare your fence and planting bed. Install screw eyes 7 inches apart across the top and bottom of the fence. Thread sturdy 20 lb. test fishing line from the first eye at the bottom, up to the top eye and then across to the second eye and down. Repeat continuously all the way up and down the fence. The mandevilla vines will be trained up the fishing line.
Select and install the plants. Make sure the mandevilla varieties are vigorous vining types, like Sun Parasol Giant, Sun Parasol Pretty and Sundenia Suprema. A bushy, dipladenia type will not climb very far. Paul starts with fresh plants in gallon pots in late April. He doesn’t overwinter the plants from one year to the next.
Protect from frost. Temperatures can still dip in late April and May in Ohio. Cover the plants with a sheet or spray the plants with water.
Fertilize every week until September. Fertilizing is the key to achieving the lush growth. Paul uses Jack’s Classic from JR Peters. He adds 2.5 cups of fertilizer to a 5-gallon bucket of water and siphons it with an old hose to water on the plants.
Protect from insect pests. Monitor plants for whiteflies, aphids and mealy bugs. Paul uses BotaniGard ES (a natural mycoinsecticide) and horticultural oils.
Ideal exposure is full sun, or at least morning sun. In addition to mandevillas, Paul has had great success training other vining plants, such as moonflowers, which produce big fragrant white blooms that open in the evening and close in the morning. He also keeps a daily gardening journal noting the number of flowers, when he watered. Imagine seeing 200 blooms one morning!
By Natalie Carmolli, Proven Winners® ColorChoice®
Photographs courtesy of Proven Winners® ColorChoice®
We can add a pop of pink to existing gardens or mix deep pink flowers with mid-to-pale pinks to make a gorgeous monochromatic garden statement. To learn more Click here for an interesting article.
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