Abutilons by Paula Szilard Imagine a plant that has attractive maple or heart shaped leaves, blooms virtually all the time (though less prolifically in the winter) and is relatively easy to grow indoors. Well, there is such a plant—the Abutilon. This Victorian favorite was often grown in the cool parlors of the day. Hence, one of its names, parlor maple. Also known as the flowering maple or Chinese lantern, the abutilon is not a maple at all, but a hibiscus relative in the Malvaceae family. In spite of all its virtues, it has been eclipsed by its flashier cousin, the hibiscus, with its much larger and showier flowers. In terms of sheer blooming virtuosity; however, the abutilon leaves its lazier cousin in the dust. The abutilon gets its name from the Arabic word for a type of mallow. It is native to the tropical areas of both the old and the new world. The abutilons we cultivate, however, are chiefly species from tropical America and their hybrids. Even the untrained eye will recognize the abutilon’s bell or wheel shaped, prominently veined flower and characteristically protruding style, stamens and anthers as similar to the hibiscus. Flower colors are white, melon, orange, yellow, light pink, rose and red. There is no blue. The closest color is a purplish pink (mauve) found in A. x suntense, a hybrid known for its tolerance to colder temperatures (USDA Zones 8-9). In contrast to the hibiscus, abutilons make lasting cut flowers. In fact they were once grown specifically for this purpose. Although there are herbaceous varieties, most abutilons we grow are woody shrubs or small trees. Interestingly, one herbaceous variety people recognize is Chinese jute or A. theophrasti, an abutilon with large heart-shaped leaves and small yellow flowers, a common weed here in West, but an important fiber crop in north China Although generally grown as indoor plants in northern climates, abutilons can spend the summer outdoors on your patio. Indoors, give them as much light as possible. A south or west window is preferred. Outdoors in our scorching Colorado summers they may do better in part shade than full sun. No matter where they are, they don’t do too well in intense heat. They may stop blooming until it gets cooler. They can easily grow several feet in one summer, so to support all this new growth they need a lot of fertilizer and a lot of water. Alternate a balanced fertilizer, such as 20-20-20 with one that is high in phosphorus (with a high middle number) to encourage blooming. In the summer abutilons may need to be fed once a week. At other times, feed less frequently. As with most potted plants, use a loose potting mix to allow for adequate drainage. Most abutilons can be pruned into shrub-like shapes or into tree-like standards. No matter how you train them, pinching back the buds and pruning are necessary for that filled out and bushy look. Some of the most common upright varieties are: A. pictum Thompsonii [see right], a tall plant with cantaloupe colored blossoms and dappled yellow and green maple shaped leaves, the result of a virus infection; Boule de Neige, a white flowered maple leaf variety which can be upright or spreading in habit; Souvenir de Bonn a tall gangly plant with long internodes, maple leaves edged in cream and orange flowers; and A. ‘Linda Vista Peach’ a variety with an orange red calyx and a peachy orange flower, noted for its cold tolerance. On a visit to Hersonswood Nursery in Washington state, I was surprised to see it planted in the ground year round in a protected area. There are also varieties with lax stems that make excellent plants for hanging baskets. The best known of these is A. megapotamicum [see left]. It has narrow arrow-shaped leaves that are sometimes slightly lobed. There are plain and variegated forms. It’s striking flowers have a long red calyx, bright yellow petals and purplish red stamens. Another wonderful lax stemmed cultivar is A. ‘Huntinton Pink’. This plant has small to medium sized leaves with the typical maple leaf shape. The flowers are medium pink on the outside and light pink blending to dark pink on the inside. This abutilon makes a very impressive display throughout the year and is fantastic as a basket plant or as an addition to container plantings. Although the Victorians prized the abutilons’ tree-like growth habit, some of us don’t share this enthusiasm. Hybridizers have come up with two varieties with very short internodes that grow to 18 inches or less—Crepe de Chine [see right] and the Bella Series. Both of these varieties can be used as bedding plants in part shade. Crepe de Chine mix seeds are available from Park’s Seeds. Plants come in red, apricot, deep coral and salmon (all in one seed packet). I successfully grew some from seed last year. I have never grown the Bella Series (PanAmerican Seed Company). It comes in red, peach, apricot, rose, pink, ivory and yellow. Logee’s has it’s own everblooming dwarf variety called Abutilon ‘dwarf red’ [see left] which grows from 8-12” tall in a container. Abutilons are easy to propagate from tip cuttings in a loose, moist medium, such as a mix of perlite and potting soil. Just let the cut dry a bit. Then dip in rooting powder, put the moistened potting mix in a small container with drainage holes. Make a hole the growing in the moist mix with the blunt end of a pen or pencil. Put the cutting in the hole and fill in with your growing medium so it doesn’t dry out. Put the container with cutting into a Ziploc bag, close it and pierce several holes near the top with a pen. Put it under fluorescent lights 12-14 hours a day or on a warm, but not sunny windowsill. Under fluorescents, abutilons will usually root in 3 weeks or so. If you are able to provide bottom heat, it’s much faster. Every plant has its drawbacks and the Abutilon is no exception. Considering the plant’s many virtues, these seem fairly minor. Like hibiscuses, abutilons suffer from occasional infestations of spider mites. These are not always easy to control. I put mine in the shower and use the shower massage with hot water, making sure to get the undersides of the leaves thoroughly rinsed. If you’re wondering if your hot water could be too hot, the answer is yes. My hot water heater is set to the lowest setting. As it comes out of the tap, my water temperature is about 130-140 F. By the time it has gone through a sprayer nozzle and reaches the plant it is cooled to 110-115 F., cool enough to avoid damaging most plants. Periodic rinsing with hot water is helpful, even if you use other control measures. Insecticidal soaps are only somewhat effective against spider mites. Though horticultural oil is the most effective treatment, it can cause some damage to the foliage if applied when temperatures are too hot. To avoid this, apply it in the morning when temperatures are lower. Also, please remember the rules of application: never indoors, and never in the sun. Some people rinse off the oil spray after about one hour. Scale insects surface occasionally. In severe infestations, the stems can be covered with them. You’ll also find them on the undersides of leaves, especially near the petiole (leaf stem). When they are out of control, you’ll need to prune off the most severely infested parts of the plant, then apply a horticultural oil spray. Dipping a toothbrush in rubbing alcohol and brushing the insects off is another option, but only for lesser infestations. Infestations of the greenhouse whitefly are much less common, but if they occur, you can do a lot with just yellow sticky traps. If the situation doesn’t improve, then reach for your houseplant spray with pyrethrins and similar compounds. If this does not do it, use horticultural oil spray. Gary Davis suggests that you propagate your plants when you start seeing problems, such as spider mites and scale. Make a tip cutting from a branch that is not infested, dip in soapy water or a 10% Clorox solution. If your plant has scale, first use an oil spray, then proceed as above. I have made allusions to the cold tolerance of some cultivars. As a general rule, abutilons can tolerate temperatures just above freezing. Many sources say around 34 F. However, I was dumfounded when my A. ‘Kristen’s pink’ survived two days of outdoor temperatures of 9-13 degrees below zero in my unheated garage with only a heat lamp and two incandescent plant spotlights for warmth. Temperatures inside the garage were in the mid 20’s. I had put the plant there to induce dormancy for the winter. Even with such cold temperatures, it never lost its leaves and never froze. I watered it once a month, keeping the soil fairly dry. When the cold weather hit, a watering was long overdue. Did the dryness help? Was this some kind of record? Should I contact Guiness? If you have never grown these wonderful plants, hopefully I’ve convinced you to give them a try. Sources: Martin, Tovah. Once Upon a Windowsill: A History of Indoor Plants. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 1988. Martin, Tovah. “Abutilons.” Flower & Garden Magazine, Jan-Feb 1998 (from LookSmart’s FindArticles database.) New York Botanical Garden Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horticulture. Edited by Thomas H. Everett. New York, Garland, 1980. Author’s Note: I would like to thank Gary Davis for reading the article, making corrections, and providing additional material.

Abutilons

by Paula Szilard

Imagine a plant that has attractive maple or heart shaped leaves, blooms virtually all the time (though less prolifically in the winter) and is relatively easy to grow indoors. Well, there is such a plant—the Abutilon. This Victorian favorite was often grown in the cool parlors of the day. Hence, one of its names, parlor maple. Also known as the flowering maple or Chinese lantern, the abutilon is not a maple at all, but a hibiscus relative in the Malvaceae family. In spite of all its virtues, it has been eclipsed by its flashier cousin, the hibiscus, with its much larger and showier flowers. In terms of sheer blooming virtuosity; however, the abutilon leaves its lazier cousin in the dust.

The abutilon gets its name from the Arabic word for a type of mallow. It is native to the tropical areas of both the old and the new world. The abutilons we cultivate, however, are chiefly species from tropical America and their hybrids. Even the untrained eye will recognize the abutilon’s bell or wheel shaped, prominently veined flower and characteristically protruding style, stamens and anthers as similar to the hibiscus. Flower colors are white, melon, orange, yellow, light pink, rose and red. There is no blue. The closest color is a purplish pink (mauve) found in A. x suntense, a hybrid known for its tolerance to colder temperatures (USDA Zones 8-9). In contrast to the hibiscus, abutilons make lasting cut flowers. In fact they were once grown specifically for this purpose. Although there are herbaceous varieties, most abutilons we grow are woody shrubs or small trees. Interestingly, one herbaceous variety people recognize is Chinese jute or A. theophrasti, an abutilon with large heart-shaped leaves and small yellow flowers, a common weed here in West, but an important fiber crop in north China

Although generally grown as indoor plants in northern climates, abutilons can spend the summer outdoors on your patio. Indoors, give them as much light as possible. A south or west window is preferred. Outdoors in our scorching Colorado summers they may do better in part shade than full sun. No matter where they are, they don’t do too well in intense heat. They may stop blooming until it gets cooler. They can easily grow several feet in one summer, so to support all this new growth they need a lot of fertilizer and a lot of water. Alternate a balanced fertilizer, such as 20-20-20 with one that is high in phosphorus (with a high middle number) to encourage blooming. In the summer abutilons may need to be fed once a week. At other times, feed less frequently. As with most potted plants, use a loose potting mix to allow for adequate drainage.

Most abutilons can be pruned into shrub-like shapes or into tree-like standards. No matter how you train them, pinching back the buds and pruning are necessary for that filled out and bushy look. Some of the most common upright varieties are: A. pictum Thompsonii [see right], a tall plant with cantaloupe colored blossoms and dappled yellow and green maple shaped leaves, the result of a virus infection; Boule de Neige, a white flowered maple leaf variety which can be upright or spreading in habit; Souvenir de Bonn a tall gangly plant with long internodes, maple leaves edged in cream and orange flowers; and A. ‘Linda Vista Peach’ a variety with an orange red calyx and a peachy orange flower, noted for its cold tolerance. On a visit to Hersonswood Nursery in Washington state, I was surprised to see it planted in the ground year round in a protected area.

There are also varieties with lax stems that make excellent plants for hanging baskets. The best known of these is A. megapotamicum [see left]. It has narrow arrow-shaped leaves that are sometimes slightly lobed. There are plain and variegated forms. It’s striking flowers have a long red calyx, bright yellow petals and purplish red stamens. Another wonderful lax stemmed cultivar is A. ‘Huntinton Pink’. This plant has small to medium sized leaves with the typical maple leaf shape. The flowers are medium pink on the outside and light pink blending to dark pink on the inside. This abutilon makes a very impressive display throughout the year and is fantastic as a basket plant or as an addition to container plantings.

Although the Victorians prized the abutilons’ tree-like growth habit, some of us don’t share this enthusiasm. Hybridizers have come up with two varieties with very short internodes that grow to 18 inches or less—Crepe de Chine [see right] and the Bella Series. Both of these varieties can be used as bedding plants in part shade. Crepe de Chine mix seeds are available from Park’s Seeds. Plants come in red, apricot, deep coral and salmon (all in one seed packet). I successfully grew some from seed last year. I have never grown the Bella Series (PanAmerican Seed Company). It comes in red, peach, apricot, rose, pink, ivory and yellow. Logee’s has it’s own everblooming dwarf variety called Abutilon ‘dwarf red’ [see left] which grows from 8-12” tall in a container.

Abutilons are easy to propagate from tip cuttings in a loose, moist medium, such as a mix of perlite and potting soil. Just let the cut dry a bit. Then dip in rooting powder, put the moistened potting mix in a small container with drainage holes. Make a hole the growing in the moist mix with the blunt end of a pen or pencil. Put the cutting in the hole and fill in with your growing medium so it doesn’t dry out. Put the container with cutting into a Ziploc bag, close it and pierce several holes near the top with a pen. Put it under fluorescent lights 12-14 hours a day or on a warm, but not sunny windowsill. Under fluorescents, abutilons will usually root in 3 weeks or so. If you are able to provide bottom heat, it’s much faster.

Every plant has its drawbacks and the Abutilon is no exception. Considering the plant’s many virtues, these seem fairly minor. Like hibiscuses, abutilons suffer from occasional infestations of spider mites. These are not always easy to control. I put mine in the shower and use the shower massage with hot water, making sure to get the undersides of the leaves thoroughly rinsed. If you’re wondering if your hot water could be too hot, the answer is yes. My hot water heater is set to the lowest setting. As it comes out of the tap, my water temperature is about 130-140 F. By the time it has gone through a sprayer nozzle and reaches the plant it is cooled to 110-115 F., cool enough to avoid damaging most plants. Periodic rinsing with hot water is helpful, even if you use other control measures. Insecticidal soaps are only somewhat effective against spider mites. Though horticultural oil is the most effective treatment, it can cause some damage to the foliage if applied when temperatures are too hot. To avoid this, apply it in the morning when temperatures are lower. Also, please remember the rules of application: never indoors, and never in the sun. Some people rinse off the oil spray after about one hour.

Scale insects surface occasionally. In severe infestations, the stems can be covered with them. You’ll also find them on the undersides of leaves, especially near the petiole (leaf stem). When they are out of control, you’ll need to prune off the most severely infested parts of the plant, then apply a horticultural oil spray. Dipping a toothbrush in rubbing alcohol and brushing the insects off is another option, but only for lesser infestations.

Infestations of the greenhouse whitefly are much less common, but if they occur, you can do a lot with just yellow sticky traps. If the situation doesn’t improve, then reach for your houseplant spray with pyrethrins and similar compounds. If this does not do it, use horticultural oil spray.

Gary Davis suggests that you propagate your plants when you start seeing problems, such as spider mites and scale. Make a tip cutting from a branch that is not infested, dip in soapy water or a 10% Clorox solution. If your plant has scale, first use an oil spray, then proceed as above.

I have made allusions to the cold tolerance of some cultivars. As a general rule, abutilons can tolerate temperatures just above freezing. Many sources say around 34 F. However, I was dumfounded when my A. ‘Kristen’s pink’ survived two days of outdoor temperatures of 9-13 degrees below zero in my unheated garage with only a heat lamp and two incandescent plant spotlights for warmth. Temperatures inside the garage were in the mid 20’s. I had put the plant there to induce dormancy for the winter. Even with such cold temperatures, it never lost its leaves and never froze. I watered it once a month, keeping the soil fairly dry. When the cold weather hit, a watering was long overdue. Did the dryness help? Was this some kind of record? Should I contact Guiness?

If you have never grown these wonderful plants, hopefully I’ve convinced you to give them a try.

Sources:

Martin, Tovah. Once Upon a Windowsill: A History of Indoor Plants. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 1988.

Martin, Tovah. “Abutilons.” Flower & Garden Magazine, Jan-Feb 1998 (from LookSmart’s FindArticles database.)

New York Botanical Garden Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horticulture. Edited by Thomas H. Everett. New York, Garland, 1980.

Author’s Note: I would like to thank Gary Davis for reading the article, making corrections, and providing additional material.