I bought this plant last year at Home Depot and I lost the identification tag. I'm trying to revive it and without identifying the plant I can't find care information. Also, I'm trying to figure out if the dark "spines" or bumps in the second and third photo are just a feature of the plant, or if they are an insect infesting the plant. These bumps are where the stems meet the leaves, and also in a uniformly-spaced ring around the main stem where leaves attach to it. Any help is appreciated!
Mandevilla? Bumps are a feature of the plant. When larger, they grab hold of whatever the plant is vining upon. Hmm. How do you mean, 'revive'? Looks in good health to me. ??? What's the problem, mainly? Try this site: http://www.exoticrainforest.com Lovely site, and chock full of factual, detailed, comprehensible information about tropical plants.
"Revive" is because it didn't survive the winter as well I'd hoped it would. It was out on the patio all winter though, which even in SoCal in winter I probably can't expect it to be in perfect shape. It does have some kind of bug which looks like a little spider and leaves a web. I hand picked one yesterday and hope that's the only one. Most of the foliage yellowed over the winter so I cut it back and it's coming back quickly now that the growing season has started.
Togata, I don't have Mandevilla on the site but I agree this appears to be that plant. I haven't grown this plant in more than 10 years when we lived in Florida but it does enjoy sandy soil and can grow very near the ocean since it is somewhat salt tolerant. The petioles that support the leaves look normal to me. The plant prefers very bright outdoor light but not direct sunlight at midday. It needs a dilute fertilizer on a regular basis as well. I'm not sure I understand the concern either since the plant appears to be normal, just immature. These need a trellis since the vine wants to climb. In South Florida they can be found climbing any fence in just about any neighborhood. The l.love water but also need fast draining soil. I wouldn't suggest regular potting soil for this plant since the root system may rot. The stem is the central axis or vine of the plant while the support of each leaf is a petiole.
I'm glad to hear the new growth looks good (I took the photo of the healthiest looking part I could find to avoid embarassment). :-) Thanks for the tips. It does drain well, however I do have some yellowing even in the new growth, and a reddish hue in some places. I'm probably over-watering. I am finding some webs on the plant persistently, and I found something that looks like a small spider, about 1/8 inch in size. I got one but found more webs. It's not all over the leaves though, just between the branches. I've noticed some deformed new leaves also, but I don't know if it's related. Any ideas, or can you suggest a broad-based remedy to try? Thank you very much!
You appear to have spider mites. Increase the humidity as much as possible. It would be very good to take the plant outside and wash it with a heavy spray to dislodge the mites.
