🌺 Alice du Pont Mandevilla

What it looks like

Why this variety

Alice du Pont is the mandevilla that made mandevilla famous: large, rose-pink, trumpet-shaped flowers with hot pink throats, blooming from late spring into fall on a vigorous twining vine that climbs 10 feet or more in a warm season. It is a classic hybrid, grown for decades because it does the simple thing supremely well — a wall of pink trumpets, glossy green leaves, and hummingbird visits, with no fuss beyond sun, water, and a support to climb. If you want one mandevilla and you want pink, this is the one old gardeners will name first.

The trade-off is vigor and tenderness: Alice du Pont grows fast and wants a sturdy trellis, fence, or arbor — a flimsy support will be swallowed and then pulled over — and it is frost-tender, dying back at the first freeze. Give it full sun to part shade, well-drained soil, steady water, and regular feeding in the growing season, prune after bloom to keep it shapely, and do not plant it where it can climb into trees or onto a roof unchecked. In cold winters, grow it in a container and bring it under cover.

If you are new to choosing between cultivars, the Varieties Matter guide explains why the name after the plant matters as much as the plant itself. Alice du Pont is a perfect example: it is not just a mandevilla in the abstract, it is a mandevilla with a specific job, a specific history, and specific strengths.

Florida honesty: mandevilla is a genuine Florida vine — perennial in frost-free South Florida, and a vigorous annual or container plant in Central and North Florida, where it blooms from spring until the first freeze. Give it sun, drainage, and a sturdy support, feed regularly, and overwinter containers indoors in North Florida. It thrives in Florida heat and humidity, which is why it is a garden-center staple statewide, and why it is one of the few vines that actually prefers a Florida summer.

How to grow

Plant in spring, after frost danger, in full sun to part shade and well-drained soil, against a sturdy support it can twine around — a trellis, fence, or arbor, not a flimsy stake, which a vigorous vine will swallow. Work worm castings into the planting hole, water through the first season, and feed regularly in the growing season for continuous bloom. Prune after bloom to keep it shapely, and bring containers under cover before frost.

Set plants 2-3 feet apart on a support in soil with a pH around 6.0-7.0. Work worm castings into the bed at planting and mulch to hold moisture. A well-fed mandevilla plant rewards that care directly: steadier growth, better bloom, and a show that actually shows up.

Water & feeding

Keep soil evenly moist through the growing season — mandevilla is a fast-growing vine that wilts fast in dry soil and blooms hardest with steady water and regular feeding. Water at the soil line, mulch to hold moisture, and feed regularly: castings at planting plus a balanced liquid feed every couple of weeks during heavy bloom keeps the trumpets coming. In winter, reduce water for container plants kept indoors.

Common problems

• TOXIC SAP AND PARTS — mandevilla is a dogbane relative; its milky sap and all parts are toxic if eaten, so wear gloves when pruning and keep cuttings from children and pets.
• Freeze damage — mandevilla dies at frost; bring containers under cover before a freeze, and cut back dead growth in spring.
• Aphids, whiteflies, and spider mites — blast with water and encourage predators before reaching for sprays; stressed, dry plants attract pests first.
• Leggy growth in shade — mandevilla stretches and blooms thinly without sun; give it full sun to part shade, not deep shade.
• Outgrowing its support — a vigorous vine swallows a flimsy trellis; give it a sturdy arbor and prune to keep it in bounds.

Harvest

Cut a few flowering stems for bouquets in summer, when trumpets are fully open — mandevilla flowers last a few days in water and suit tropical-style arrangements, though they are best admired on the vine. Wear gloves when pruning, wash hands after handling, and keep cuttings from children and pets, because mandevilla sap and parts are toxic if eaten. Prune after bloom for shape, and bring containers under cover before frost.

Saving seeds

Alice du Pont is a classic hybrid, so seed saved from it won’t come true — buy plants or propagate from cuttings. The Saving seeds section of the Mandevilla guide covers seed for the straight species.