Rio Dipladenia

Tropical Beauty: Rio Dipladenia

Posted on by Ann Mackay

It has been raining heavily here for over a week. The garden needed the rain, but it has made planting spring bulbs and dividing up plants impossible for the moment. But, luckily, it hasn’t stopped me from photographing flowers.

When I first came across this dipladenia plant in a local garden centre, I thought it was a mandevilla, which I’d seen in books and magazines.

It turns out that the two are very closely related but different. Mandevillas grow taller than dipladenia, and will climb. Dipladenias, on the other hand, are shorter and bushier and will trail unless you train them to be upright. (They can also be recognised by their smoother, more rounded leaves – the leaves of mandevilla are narrow and comparatively rough.)

By chance, the ‘Rio’ dipladenia appears to be a good choice to grow here because it is small enough to grow happily in a pot in the conservatory. (They’re supposed to be good in a hanging basket too.)

Usually I’m quick to ask questions at the garden centre if I’m unfamiliar with a plant. I like to know that I’ll be able to give it the right conditions. But this time, I’ll admit, I just looked at the label and thought, ‘Oh, that’s exciting!’ So far, taking a chance has worked out well because the plant is still small but covered in flowers. That makes me a happy photographer, with something to keep me busy on a rainy day!

Flowers of Rio Dipladenia 'Hot Pink'
My impulse buy has worked out well!

Published by Ann Mackay

Photographer, mixed-media art adventurer and completely daft about plants.......

21 thoughts on “Tropical Beauty: Rio Dipladenia”

      2. I had a few hours in the garden this afternoon and managed to get my daffodil bulbs planted. 🙂 Lots more work waiting to be done though…

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    1. It would be lovely if it was in flower then , but I reckon it will have finished. (The conservatory will be a bit too cool for it to flower – it’s used more as a little indoor garden than a sitting room and doesn’t get much heating.)

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      2. Hehe, the garden is still a bit of a building site in places, due to changes we’ve made since the conservatory was built. And we haven’t had the conservatory long, so I’m still getting used to growing things in there. But it’s very useful for tender plants in winter and there’s still plenty of empty space… 🙂

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