Since I have a resident chipmunk who continually chews the very bottom of my clematis clean off leaving my entire vine to die on the trellis, I decided this year to plant a tropical vine in my non-tropical location hoping that the chipmunk tastes doesn't suit my tropical Mandevilla.
My Mandevilla vine sits in part of the garden that has plenty of sun in the morning to early afternoon. Pinching off the spent flowers encourages more blooming. These vining plants reach heights of 15 feet or more with stems filled with glossy green leaves. Although they are a low-maintenance vine, they do thrive on a granulated time-released fertilizer every two weeks during the summer months to thrive.
Originally from Brazil, this tropical vine suits a climate of no less than 55 degrees F (13 degrees C) so for my 5b zone, it is absolutely necessary to bring it in for the winter. They are a bit tricky to over winter in the house but if given a cool sun-filled room they should do fine.
These beautiful vines bloom non-stop from spring until fall. They are ideal in containers, on trellises or arbors and so far it seems that chipmunks don't like how they taste!
