This unique easy care, semi-tropical looking plant provides lots of color for your garden with dramatic pendant bell-shaped flowers and dramatic maple shaped leaves. A happy Abutilon can bloom nearly non-stop from late spring to first frost.
Along with all this beautiful color its flowers also attract hummingbirds and other beneficial insects to your garden. The flowers are also edible, sweet with a mucilaginous texture. There are some varieties that are more cold tolerant. The benefit of over wintering your Abutilon is that you get a bigger more vigorous plant the following year.
Some varieties you can find at Portland Nursery include:
Red flowers with yellow petals and purple anthers that bloom summer to fall. 6' tall. An almost vine like habit. Hardy to 10-15°F
Lavender flowers with soft bluish leaves. 4-8' tall x 5' wide. Can be over wintered outside with slight protection in colder months.
Showy pendant, bell shaped apricot flowers with red sepals that bloom all season. 5' tall x 4' wide.
Pendulous deep golden ruffled flowers with broad dark maroon eyes that bloom all season. 5' tall x 4' wide.
Pendulous yellow flowers that blooms all season. 3’ tall and wide, full to part sun zones 8-10.
Black stems with deep red flowers that bloom all season. 3' tall x 3' wide.
A dwarf variety growing 12” tall and wide. Full to part sun, flowering all spring to frost. Cold hardy zone 8-11.
Large 1 ½ “scarlet red bells late spring to frost. Fast growing to 3’ tall and wide in full sun, regular water and good drainage. Cold hardy to zones 8-11.
Pendulous golden flowers with red veins. Tall narrow variety perfect for training into a tree. Grows 2-4’ in a single season. Full sun to part shade, zones 8-10.
Showy white and green variegated maple like leaves with pendulous apricot flowers that bloom all season. 30" tall x 24" wide.
May-September
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Abutilon
Common Name: Flowering Maple, Chinese Lantern (not to be confused with Physalis), and Indian Mallow
Origin: Species come from South or Central America, Australia, and AfricAbutilon
Culture: This genus enjoys having light shade to full sun. Its bell shaped flowers range in color from white through pink, and from yellow to orange all the way to a deep bronzy red. Its leaves are palmate like a maple hence the common name 'Flowering Maple'. In our climate it is mostly grown as an annual but it is possible to over winter them in a protected spot like a porch or by bringing them inside during the colder months.
Maintenance: Give plenty of water especially on the hottest summer days. Provide good drainage. Fertilizing once a week, during the growing season, will extend the blooms. Plants can be pruned to desired shape and even cut back hard in early spring to control size.
Pests & Diseases: Aphids and slugs can be a challenge for these plants outdoors. When brought indoors they can be susceptible to houseplant pests such as whiteflies, spider mites, scale, and mealybugs. These can be treated with insecticides. Common diseases include root rot, rust, and leaf spot. These can be controlled by providing good air circulation, keeping the leaves dry and if necessary using a fungicide.
Annuals are planted every year and provide color summer till frost. Many annuals can be wintered over indoors or reseed outdoors providing extra value to their flower power!
