MANDEVILLA lactea suaveolens

Extraordinary climber, perennial and deciduous, with a very fast growth and liana-like bearing, native to central-southern America: when fully developed it can grow up to of 4 m and more tall, and even larger. It has numerous flexible semi-woody stems with a fickle course with which it can climb nets, fences, gazebos and pergolas, but also on trees or large bushes nearby. The leaves, opposite and ovate-lanceolate, with smooth margins and acute apex, smooth and thin, are dark green. From late spring and throughout summer, clusters of large white flowers emerge from the leaf axils in a truly generous way. The flowers, from an initial tubular shape at the bottom, open forward into a wide starry corolla of five pointed petals: their scent it is delicate and persistent and has earned this plant the common name of “Chilean jasmine”. The fruits, abundant and very thin, are rich in dark seeds with pappus that allow an easy self-dissemination of the plant.

It prefers bright and sunny locations, but where summer afternoons are hot, it can also appreciate conditions of partial shade. It adapts to any type of soil, but prefers fresh and fertile ones. It tolerates the typical salinity of sea winds in coastal areas, but does not like periods of drought, taking advantage instead of periodic wetting in the driest and hottest periods. It bears minimum winter temperatures of only a few degrees below zero, therefore where the cold is intense and lasting, it is necessary to choose a sheltered position, or mulch its foot with dry leaves and straw, or guarantee it shelter in a cool and bright environment in winter. Generally, it does not require any intervention; sometimes in spring at the vegetative restart, together with the elimination of dry, broken or bulky branches, it may be better to slightly shorten the various stems, to allow a thicker growth and increase the subsequent flowering. It can also be successfully cultivated on terraces and balconies, in large containers, guaranteeing adequate support structures for its shoots. In the open ground in the garden, it can quickly cover walls and fences, or gazebos and pergolas, or delicately wrap the vegetation of shrubs or the foliage of trees upon which it grows. In any circumstance, however, its extraordinary perfumed flowering will make it an undisputed queen of the Mediterranean summer nights.