When Your Abutilon Plant Arrives
When Your Plant Arrives
Please remove the plants from the box immediately, and water them thoroughly if they are dry. Do not allow the box to sit out in the sun or cold as it can result in the plants being damaged or killed.
When you receive your plants in the mail they have been in the dark for days and may be exiting their box into a completely different environment than they were grown in. Please avoid transplanting them into a larger pot until they have had a week or two to adjust to their new home.
Our plants are grown in a very humid greenhouse. If you live in a dry climate, or will be placing the plants into a very low humidity home, please make sure to keep them well watered as they adjust to the lower humidity.
If you will be growing your Abutilon outdoors it is doubly important to acclimate your plant properly.
Place the plants in a shaded, sheltered area for a few days or week to allow them to acclimate. They need to adapt to the local humidity level and also the outdoor wind conditions. Do NOT place your Abutilon plants in the sun or a windy location. This will cause their leaves to be burned, and may kill the plant.
Our starter plants are well rooted and ready to be transplanted into a larger pot or into the ground. Once the plants are acclimated you can repot them. The best way to know they are acclimated is by watching for new growth. When they have resumed active growth they are no longer shocked from shipping.
Watering:
Abutilons are heavy water users and like to have consistently moist soil. It is important to keep your Abutilon’s soil moist but not wet. Provide them well drained soil and do not let them sit in a puddle of water. Also do not allow them to dry out. They will wilt very dramatically if they dry out. If the plants get wilted from drying out, they often lose leaves and portions of their branches. If your plant does wilt down water it immediately and thoroughly. Usually they will recover, but not without some damage that may require trimming off.
Fertilizer:
Abutilons grow vigorously, so they benefit from weekly fertilizing with a mild liquid plant fertilizer. It is best to use a bloom boosting fertilizer—that is one with a lower 1st number and higher 2nd and 3rd number such as 10-30-30. Most liquid fertilizers designed for houseplants would be suitable.
Trimming:
Abutilons respond well to periodic trimming. They have a tendency to grow tall and leggy. Just trim off what is necessary to maintain the plant to a desirable shape and size. Trimming off tall branches down to a bud will encourage new growth resulting in a bushier, more shapely plant. It also encourages new flower buds since they are only produced on new growth. However, you should avoid over trimming, or trimming too frequently as you will be removing the new flower buds before they get a chance to open.
Sun Exposure:
Most of our Abutilons will bloom year round if given the correct light and temperature conditions.
When growing an Abutilon indoors, they will need 6-8 hours of direct sun to keep them blooming. A sunny south window is usually ideal. However, if you live in a southern climate with very harsh southern exposure, they may perform better in an east or west window during the summer months.
If your plant is getting burned leaf edges in your southern window, you should move the plant further from the window or to a different window. If your indoor Abutilon is failing to grow, or is producing lanky stretched out growth, it needs more light. Move it to a sunnier window.
Outdoors Abutilon should be planted in shade or semi-shaded areas. They do not want to be placed in a full sun location in most climates. They can tolerate morning sun exposure without a problem in our experience. However, if your Abutilon is getting direct sun exposure outdoors it is extremely important to keep the plant well watered.
Cold Hardiness:
Abutilons are not cold hardy plants. Unless you live in a frost free climate it is best to bring your Abutilon indoors before freezing temperatures arrive. Otherwise they should be treated as an annual.
For best performance, Abutilons should be kept at temperatures of about 65 degrees. This temperature combined with sufficient sunlight will encourage continued blooms. However, many of them can tolerate colder temperatures in the winter at the expense of losing many of their leaves and ceasing to put on new growth. We have found that most of our Abutilons will tolerate a light freeze and re-sprout. However, they will be killed by prolonged freezing temperatures.
We hope that this helps you get started with your new plants! If you still have any questions or concerns about caring for your new Abutilon, please contact us so that we can help!
