Winterizing Mandevilla and Red Hot Cattail - Ask Extension
Hello; I at the your 2015 Maryland State fair exhibit and a kind gentleman garden expert said you may be able to give me tips on how to winterize my 6...
Knowledgebase
Winterizing Mandevilla and Red Hot Cattail #275664
Asked September 04, 2015, 1:53 PM EDT
Hello; I at the your 2015 Maryland State fair exhibit and a kind gentleman garden expert said you may be able to give me tips on how to winterize my 6ft tall Mandevilla and Red Hot Cattail. Now they are sitting on my patio for the summer and it will soon be time to bring them in for the winter. The Mandevilla is 6ft tall with some stringing vines, and the Cattail is in a medium sized pot. Do I cut the vines off the mandevilla or do I wrap them around the rest of the plant? I would like to see it grow next spring. On the cattail do I have to repot it and do something special for the roots to keep in growing indoors. Your help would be greatly appreciated. Love the garden information center at the 2015 State Fair! THANK YOU!
County Maryland
Expert Response
See our publication for tips on overwintering mandevilla http://extension.umd.edu/sites/default/files/_images/programs/hgic/Publications/HG105_Overwintering_...
Acalypha hispida, Red Hot Cattail - Not easy to grow indoors. They are most attractive when young. Plants are usually discarded in their second year after being used for propagation. The plant needs strong light through a filtered curtain or blind. If the light is inadequate, then the plant will become spindly and not flower. Keep it in a warm location away from cold drafts. They like humidity. Set on trays of moist pebbles. During winter, cut back on the watering, keeping it just wet enough to prevent the soil from drying out. Chenille plants do not age gracefully, so begin taking tip cuttings in the spring and rooting them. Discard the parent plant when it no longer produces decent flowers or looks poorly.
mh
Acalypha hispida, Red Hot Cattail - Not easy to grow indoors. They are most attractive when young. Plants are usually discarded in their second year after being used for propagation. The plant needs strong light through a filtered curtain or blind. If the light is inadequate, then the plant will become spindly and not flower. Keep it in a warm location away from cold drafts. They like humidity. Set on trays of moist pebbles. During winter, cut back on the watering, keeping it just wet enough to prevent the soil from drying out. Chenille plants do not age gracefully, so begin taking tip cuttings in the spring and rooting them. Discard the parent plant when it no longer produces decent flowers or looks poorly.
mh
Thank you so much for your response. I'm sad that it seems the red hot cat tail may not last during the winter; your answer is great because it was difficult for me to find an answer to this question through other sources...Take care...JJ
Thanks for the paperwork on winterizing the Madevilla. I had looked for information from other sources but could not find it as complete as you gave me. Hopefully I will have a great plant next year! Thanks, JJ Branch
