If you pay any attention to the horticulture industry, then you know that plants come and go in fads just like almost any thing else. Colors are popular, then they’re not. Variegated foliage is all the rage, then it’s not. However, one thing that never becomes unpopular is bountiful blooms. Most people who grow plants love flowers. Today, we are going to take a look at a plant that we think deserves to come back into fashion–Abutilon. Abutilons are the ever blooming, easy care plant every indoor gardener should be looking for.
Some of you might be familiar with the genus Abutilon by its common name, flowering maple or parlor maple. And when I say flowering maple, you might immediately think of a big lanky, intermittently flowering plant. A plant that someone like my grandmother grew and something you have no desire to display in your home. But as is true of many plants, the Abutilon cultivars we have today are not our grandmother’s flowering maples.
We have used selective breeding to drastically improve most of our ornamental plants, and Abutilons are no exception. Today you can grow dwarf Abutilons that bloom heavily year round. They are so different from the Abutilon my grandmother grew that they are hardly recognizable as the same thing.
There are a plethora of different species and cultivars of Abutilon available on the market.
They are varieties suitable for use as bedding plants or as house plants. As a group Abutilons are a tender, evergreen perennial that can be grown outdoors year round in zones 9-11. Many of the species only bloom seasonally, but most of the hybrids are ever blooming.
One thing they all have in common is that Abutilons are generally not very picky about their care or location so long as they are provided ample moisture. They do not care to dry out at all. Because they are not finicky they are a great choice even for beginners. They can be planted in the ground and can equally as easily be grown in containers.
Abutilons grown in containers should be fertilized regularly and provided with bright light. A sunny windowsill is ideal. Most of the hybrids will bloom year round if given sufficient light and warmth to keep them actively growing. Additionally, these plants respond well to pruning so they can be easily maintained to a desirable size. Pruning them will encourage flowers as buds are produced only on new growth.
If you are interested in looking for an Abutilon to add to your indoor (or outdoor) garden. Here are 5 of our favorite ever-blooming, dwarf cultivars. You can view our full collection of Abutilon here.
Abutilon ‘Blushing Belle’
Blushing Belle is an ever-blooming dwarf Abutilon with large bright pink flowers. It has a very compact, semi-weeping habit and rarely requires pruning to maintain an attractive shape. It only grows 1-2 feet tall, and can be maintained in a container indefinitely. This plant performs equally as well outdoors on the patio as it does inside on a windowsill.
Blushing Belle is always blooming. It blooms in our cold greenhouse all winter, and it blooms in our house in January set on a northern windowsill. This plant is cold hardy enough to tolerate a frost. It is also heat and humidity tolerant enough to sit out in the sun on our patio in July. It rarely complains about anything we throw at it making it a truly versatile plant.
Abutilon ‘Little Sunshine’
Little Sunshine is even more dwarf and compact than Blushing Belle. This Abutilon comes with petite leaves and an unbelievable number of small yellow flowers. It almost flowers too much if that’s even possible. There is nothing more uplifting than looking at this plant loaded with vibrant yellow flowers on a dreary winter day. As is the case with most Abutilons, Little Sunshine is not particular about its environment as long as it stays well watered.
Because this plant is so busy producing flower buds, it stays very, very small. Almost all of its resources are devoted to flower production, and it is the most compact, slow growing Abutilon we have. It will be happy to stay a manageable size on your windowsill indefinitely. So far we have not had it exceed a foot tall making it the perfect addition to an indoor garden.
Abutilon ‘Red Glory’
We love Red Glory for its abundance of incredibly richly colored red blooms. The blooms on this plant are a deep, super-saturated red. In addition to its fantastic flower color, it is also very free blooming and always covered in blossoms. Red Glory is a bit larger and tends towards a slightly more open growth form than either Blushing Belle or Little Sunshine. However, it is still very compact and manageable. Red Glory is ever blooming and grows to a size of about 2’. It can be pruned to be kept smaller.
Aside from its flower color, one of the things we love about Red Glory is that its flowers are held more upright than many Abutilons. Many Abutilons hold their flowers facing downwards . Not so with Red Glory! The large 2.5” blooms are held in outward facing clusters making for a really exceptionally show.
Abutilon ‘Wedding Day’
If you aren’t a fan of really vibrant colors and are looking for something more pastel, Wedding Day has you covered! This Abutilon is a delightful light pink and white petaled flower. The flowers are white near the center and pink at the edges of the petals. Wedding Day is free flowering and easy to care for. It blooms year round for us, is cold tolerant, and produces large 2-2.5″ blooms.
This particular variety is very upright and not quite as dwarf as the other varieties on this list. It grows 2-4′ tall and would make an exceptional centerpiece in a mixed container. As with other Abutilons, it responds well to pruning and can be maintained to a smaller size quite easily.
Abutilon ‘Star Sprite’
Star Sprite is last, but not least on our list for today. We saved it for last because it is a little different than the other 4 Abutilons we are highlighting here. Star Sprite is an Abutilon megapotamicum hybrid. And thus, it has a more trailing growth habit and downward dangling blooms. It would make a good hanging basket. It also has a somewhat unique flower shape. The flowers are bell shaped with red centers and yellow orange petals with darker orange veins and a bright red calyx surrounding them. This makes for a really stunning floral display.
Star Sprite is easy to care for, ever blooming and quite cold tolerant. It is a dwarf plant that will stay small and maintain a nice tight compact form without a lot of pruning. It can be grown as a hanging basket or standard form, and could make an excellent addition to mixed containers.
This is just a sampling of some of our favorite Abutilons. However, this is certainly not an exhaustive list. There are too many fantastic ones to list them all here including varieties with stunning variegated foliage. So next time you are looking for a reliable ever blooming plant, consider a not-your-grandmother’s flowering maple, but rather the modern hybrid Abutilons! Start your collection by visiting our online store.
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