Brazilian jasmine plant care (Mandevilla sanderi)

Brazilian jasmine is a vine plant that can grow up to 9 m tall. It wraps around supports and decorates them with beautiful red, white, or pink flowers. Brazilian jasmine can also grow as a ground cover or in a pot. It is easy to take care of. Just keep giving it water, food, and sunlight; it will bloom to its fullest potential.

Condition Requirement

Water and Hardiness

The Brazilian jasmine doesn’t like it when it’s cold. If you live in a cooler climate, you must bring your Brazilian jasmine inside during the fall and winter. You should get the container inside when the temperature outside drops below 10 °C. The Brazilian jasmine grows best when the temperature is above 16 °C.
Brazilian jasmine is not a light drinker. It needs to be watered every day, especially if it is in a container outside. Use a container with good drainage, though, because it doesn’t like to be wet. It also needs humidity, so if it drops below 50%, you might want to use a cool-mist room humidifier or put the container on a tray of wet pebbles.

Sunlight

Outdoor Brazilian jasmine requires total sun exposure in cooler climates. In warmer places with strong sunlight, it’s best to have some shade during the afternoon sun. Brazilian jasmine grown inside likes bright light, either direct or indirect sunlight. It’s best to have more than six hours of sunlight every day because if you don’t, the flowers may come later and be smaller.

Soil

Brazilian jasmine likes to grow in sandy, rich soil with a lot of organic matter. The soil should drain quickly and have a pH of between 6.6 and 7.5. Two parts peat moss or potting soil and one part builder’s sand would make the best soil for the vines. When you plant Brazilian jasmine in a pot, the pot needs to be deep enough to give the roots enough room to grow. But the pot shouldn’t be so deep that the plant’s roots use all the nutrients in the soil.

 Brazilian jasmine Care Guide

Planting

You can grow Brazilian jasmine from seeds or by taking cuttings. Before planting, soak the new seeds in warm water for about half a day. The seed doesn’t have to be buried deep; just a thin layer of soil will do. Ensure the soil is moist, the temperature is warm (about 18–24°C), and there is indirect sunlight until the seeds germinate.
Even easier is to grow new plants from cuttings, which is best done in the spring. Take about 8 cm-long cuttings from the tips or side shoots. Remove almost all of the leaves except for the top two. Dip the end of the cuttings in rooting hormone and stick them in the sandy potting mix soil. If you put them somewhere warm, moist, and humid, they should grow new roots in a month or two.

Water

Whether grown inside or outside, Brazilian jasmine must be watered often. It would help if you only watered it once a week when the top soil is dry. After that, water a lot, but ensure the soil or container has good drainage because too much water can cause root rot. Also, try to water it in the morning so that any extra water will evaporate by the evening and not make the soil damp overnight. Last, remember that the soil in potted plants dries out faster, especially if they are kept outside. So check on them and water them more often.

Fertilizer

By giving your Brazilian jasmine some extra food regularly, you will get a lot of its trumpet-shaped flowers in your garden. Of course, mixing organic fertilizers like compost and manure is always a good idea, but Brazilian jasmine likes a bit more phosphorus during the growing season. A good way to fertilize a plant is to use an all-purpose fertilizer with the formula N-P-K 10-20-10 every two weeks while the plant is growing.

Pruning

Because brazilian jasmine grows and blooms so quickly, it is highly recommended to prune it once a year. The vine will start to look messy and untidy if it isn’t there. Also, it won’t be able to bloom as well as it could.
The best time to prune Brazilian jasmine is in late winter or early spring before the plant grows new leaves. First, cut back old growth or branches out of control to the ground. It will make sure that new growth is strong and healthy. Next, use scissors that are sharp and clean. Clean your pruning tools as often as possible, preferably after each cut, to ensure that no hidden contamination gets transferred to healthy branches.
Also, you can cut off some of the new shoots of Brazilian jasmine once they reach 8 cm in length during the growing season. By pinching off the tips of new growth, the new growth will split into two branches, making the plant fuller.

Seasonal Precautions

Brazilian jasmine goes to sleep for a while. During the winter, you should water half as often. Fertilizing should also be reduced to no more than once a month or stopped altogether. When spring comes, remove the dead leaves and water and feed the plant as usual.

Common Problems

My Brazilian jasmine isn’t blooming. What Wrong?

Brazilian jasmine blooms often, but only when the weather is just right. Most of the time, a plant that doesn’t have any flowers doesn’t have enough food or the right temperature. Remember that Brazilian jasmine doesn’t like it when it’s cold. It doesn’t do well in temperatures below 4 °C and dies at that temperature. It also needs to be at least 16 °C for flowers to grow. To get the most flowers, you should give the vines high-phosphorus fertilizer every two weeks.

My Brazilian jasmine’s leaves are starting to turn yellow. What could be the cause?

When Brazilian jasmine leaves turn yellow, they get too much or too little water. If it’s the first place, the plant can’t get enough nutrients from the soil because its roots are soggy from too much water. Also, too much water helps different fungal diseases of the rot system spread. So take the plant out, clean the wet roots, and replant the vine in a pot with good drainage. If the leaves are turning yellow because they don’t get enough water, remember that Brazilian jasmine needs to be watered every week or when the topsoil dries out.