Dipladenia Diamantina Jade Scarlet

The Dipladenia or Mandevilla Diamantina Jade Scarlet is a delightful little climbing plant, very floriferous and resourceful, able to adapt to being in a large pot, a planter, or even in the ground. It tirelessly produces beautiful star-shaped flowers in a spectacular scarlet red, nestled among shiny dark green leaves, until the first frost. The Diamantina series Dipladenia are generous but frost-tender plants, which will easily survive the winter behind a bay window, in a bright conservatory or a slightly heated greenhouse, and will keep you company for many years.

Mandevillas, named in honor of diplomat and gardener Henry Mandeville, are fast-growing climbing plants, mostly native to the tropical forests of the Serra de Orgaos, near Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Growing at high altitudes, these tropical plants thrive in temperate climates if spared from frost, in partial shade or dappled light in summer. In the 1970s Robert Lannes, a French horticulturist based in Tarn et Garonne, was the first to take an interest in hybridizing these plants of immense potential. Years of research and selection have resulted in particularly floriferous varieties, more compact, with various colours, that are easy to grow for amateur gardeners.

The Diamantina series, derived among others from Mandevilla sanderi, produces plants with a compact habit well suited for pot cultivation and stands out with a wide range of colours, even offering some new shades.

'Diamantina Jade Scarlet'has a bushy habit but it can be trained as a climbing plant. Its twining, woody stems will happily work themselves around a provided support. It reaches an average height of 85cm (33.5 in) with a spread of 45cm (17.7 in), and grows rapidly. Its beautiful large flowers, 6cm (2.4 in) in diameter, are composed of 5 large lobes of scarlet red colour overlapping like the blades of a propeller. Grouped in small clusters, they bloom continuously from May until the first frost. The foliage, evergreen and leathery, is composed of small entire leaves, dark green, arranged oppositely. The lamina, thick and leathery, oval to elliptical in shape, measures 5 to 6cm (2 - 2.4 in) in length and has a shiny upper surface. This plant has fine roots and large tuberous roots, veritable storage organs that contain starch and water, allowing the plant to withstand drought quite well.

Mandevilla is often used for terrace, balcony, or patio decoration, to cover a pergola or trellis, alone or in a mix of colors. This Diamantina Jade Scarlet variety, resistant to heat and drought and capable of forming a beautiful bushy clump, can also be planted in a large flowerpot placed in isolation, even on a sunny terrace or balcony. It can be combined with e.g. a dark blue Plumbago capensis, black-eyed Susans, passionflowers. Planting in the ground (in lightened soil) should be reserved only for regions spared from frost.

Please note that our young plants in mini-plugs are professional products intended for experienced gardeners: upon receipt, transplant and store them under shelter (veranda, greenhouse, frame) at a temperature above 14C° for a few weeks before planting outside once all risk of frost has passed.