A large number of popular plant crops are native to the tropics. Abutilon is the same exotic species and its natural habitat is the jungle of the African continent, southern latitudes of America, Asia, and Australia. The plant is ranked among the genus mallow, distinguished for the variety of species. In countries with cold climates, they are grown as ornamental flowering indoor vegetation. Let learn about abutilon varieties, care, features etc.
Abutilon: flowering maple houseplant
The more well-known and common name for the culture is indoor maple. In nature, there are more than one and a half hundred species and in natural conditions, abutilon grows in the form of shrubs, dwarf trees, or grassy vegetation. Some Abutilon varieties are quite impressive in size and reach two meters in height.
Indoor maple abutilon is perennial, annual, undersized, and tall. There are species of climbing plants, but only one tenth of the varieties are grown indoors. In the tropics, strong fibrous material is obtained from wild trees, from which ropes and wicker objects are made.
Home maple is loved and grown in many countries and a distinctive feature of this culture is completely unpretentious requirements for the content, the ability to quickly gain leaf mass and a rather attractive appearance. An exotic tree at the time of flowering is able to decorate the most ordinary room and create an atmosphere of peace and comfort.
Thanks to the efforts of breeders, completely new hybrid varieties appear periodically. Flower growers – amateurs breed abutilon in the form of voluminous bushes and miniature trees. Such indoor plantings differ in shape, growth, color, leaf mass, and inflorescences.
These varieties have larger, dense foliage, sometimes pubescent with carved edges. Inflorescences are formed on adult and newly emerged shoots. Usually, the buds are collected in small tassels, which bloom, decorate the culture with tiny bells, slightly open bells, and large plates of flowers on long tails.
All varieties of culture have one distinctive feature. The structure of the lamina is very soft, lobed with pointed toothed tips. These characteristic shapes are remarkably similar to the outline of an ordinary maple leaf.
Immediately after the end of winter, abutilon blooms, and this process lasts until autumn. There are varieties that do not stop flowering all year round. They differ in the colors of the foliage, in which the usual greens are diluted with specks and stains of all kinds of shades. The drooping inflorescences also look unusual, differing not only in color schemes but also in the shape of the flowers.
Indoor maple is famous as a unique plant and is quite popular with flower growers. It is believed that it is useful to keep abutilon indoors for people prone to nervous breakdowns. The plant in the flowering stage spreads pacifying and calming energy and prevents the occurrence of depression and stress. The flower is recommended to be planted in office premises, where the emotional atmosphere is constantly tense.
Do you want to know Early Signs Of Male Plant.
Abutilon varieties
Indoor compact hybrids have been gaining popularity lately. These varieties are especially noteworthy for their neat size, long and abundant flowering of large multi-colored flowers. Such domestic maples are able to delight their owner all year round, delivering only positive emotions.
Abutilon Sello
Serious external differences belong to this species since the Sello leaf mass has a striped color that is not characteristic of the variety. The plant has a not too branched stem with straight shoots slightly extending to the sides. Each leaf is divided into three elongated lobes with pointed tips.
Flowers of a light purple tone with pinkish veins adorn the bush during the flowering period, which occurs in mid-July and continues until the beginning of winter. In comfortable climatic conditions and with good care, the plant reaches two meters in height.
Abutilon Bella
By crossing several varieties, a special type of indoor maple was bred, which has the purpose of growing on windowsills. The Bella series of abutilons includes seven hybrids that were obtained as a result of cross-pollination and differ in a variety of colors of inflorescences.
The bushes of the plant grow to a small compact size and are adapted for indoor spaces. The plant blooms profusely, with long, wide-open large flowers. Domestic vegetation has small internodes, does not need pinching, and branches excellently on its own.
Read also best hanging plants for southern California.
Abutilon Juliet
It is quite difficult to find a more unpretentious and undemanding plant. The Abutilon Juliet hybrid belongs to just such a variety of flower crops. Growing does not need serious knowledge and is available even to a grower without experience. Already four months after planting, the maple blooms and, with enough light, is able to delight with flowering all year round.
Juliet blooms with large bright bells of red and yellow shades. It grows very quickly and in a few years it can reach one and a half meters in length. With the onset of spring, an adult plant is halved by pruning every year to give compact forms. In summer, if possible, pots with abutilon are taken out into the air, from which the flowers acquire a more saturated color.
Abutilon hybrid
This variety is native to Brazil. It is an evergreen, branched shrub that grows up to two meters. In winter, the plant is kept in the brightest and coolest place at home, and in the summer it is transferred to partial shade. The bark of the culture is slightly brown. The leaves are unusually large, depending on the variety, there are three, five lobed, all kinds of shapes and colors.
Soft fluffiness is present not only on leaf blades, but also in bell-shaped inflorescences protruding from long pedicels and very large petioles. The plant is very fond of spraying. But this is done so that water does not fall on the flowers. Due to insufficient moisture, the leaves of indoor maple curl.
Abutilon terry
Every florist can be proud of this type of flower, since blooming terry abutilon is magnificent. The native land of the species is South America. The plant prefers a warm climate and plenty of sunlight. The foliage has a standard shape – similar to maple. It blooms continuously from spring to autumn, in warmer conditions all year round.
The flowering is very colorful and spectacular, accompanied by not too frequent, but impressive in its splendor flowers. The buds resemble small peonies, painted in pastel shades of pink or orange. To give a more beautiful appearance, excess shoots are cut off, from this the bush takes on a more interesting shape.
Abutilon Organza
Very beautiful, abundantly branching evergreen abutilon Organza. The plant is not too demanding to care for, likes good lighting, not too much heat, and high humidity. In summer, prefers slightly shaded areas and abundant watering. In winter, it requires moistening only when necessary and according to the degree of drying of the earthen coma.
The foliage is three or five lobed, softly pubescent, large. The drooping peduncles are located singly or in pairs in the axils of the leaves, they look very graceful, bloom in red, pink, white or golden colors. For a denser and more abundant flowering, the plant is subjected to spring pruning of shoots half the length.
Check out Best Low Maintenance Hanging Plants.
Planting rules for Abutilon
Even with all the simplicity and ease of care, there are some basic principles and rules that are guided by when planting the abitulon. To grow a healthy and beautiful plant you need:
- Make the right choice of varieties. For growing maples in residential premises, modern hybrid low-growing species are chosen. It is better to refuse greenhouse tall and small-flowered ones.
- Choose the most suitable location for growing. Indoor maple can adapt to any conditions, but lighting from the south-east or south-west is great.
- Prepare breathable loose soil. For planting, universal compounds are used, which consist of peat and a large number of special baking powder.
- Purchase a volumetric and most suitable container for the root system. The first planting of a seedling is carried out in a small pot, but according to the degree of growth and development of the roots, the plant is transferred to a large vessel.
How to take care of abutilon
Caring for abutilon at home is not difficult to carry out. The main thing in this process is to determine exactly what the plant needs, what conditions are most comfortable for indoor abutilon, and how to organize the correct growth and high-quality flowering:
- It is very important to detect a disease such as chlorosis in time. It arises from lack of nutrition and stains the foliage a dirty yellow color. A sick flower culture practically does not bloom and loses its healthy appearance. To prevent the disease, special restorative drugs are used.
- It should be remembered about the necessary watering. The house tree loves moisture, especially during the hot season. The well-being, appearance and number of flower stalks of indoor maple completely depends on the correct moisture of the soil.
- Timely feeding is also needed by plant culture. Potash and phosphorus supplements are added twice a year . After pruning, for greater splendor of the foliage, the flower is watered with nitrogen compounds .
How to prune Abutilon
Sometimes it is a pity to cut a beautiful densely growing tree, but this event is necessary. It should be taken as a rule and carried out annually at the end of winter. The better the crown is formed, the more magnificent the color will be. Shoots from last year are removed by a third of the length, the tops of the young are pinched.
After pruning, the flower pot is placed in a warm and humid environment. Turn it periodically to the light and spray it. This process contributes to the formation of an even and compact crown.https://www.youtube.com/embed/u0-ARGILB1Y?rel=0
How to propagate Abutilon
Reproduction of Abutilon is usually carried out by cuttings. This method is suitable for both varietal and hybrid species.
To get a plant absolutely identical to the parent specimen, young shoots that are not overgrown with bark are taken. Part of the foliage and inflorescences is removed from them, the lower part is placed in a prepared composition of sand and peat. The soil is saturated with moisture and greenhouse conditions are organized, that is, it is covered with a vessel made of transparent glass.
The temperature in an impromptu greenhouse should be at least twenty-five degrees with a plus. In such conditions, seedlings are kept until the first new leaves appear. Then the jar is removed and after the formation of real full-fledged leaves, the plants are transplanted into personal small containers. After a while, the grown indoor maple is planted in a large pot in a permanent place of growth.
Sometimes Abitulon is grown from seed. This method contributes to the emergence of completely unfamiliar varieties of culture. But this breeding method is not applicable to all varieties, and this fact should be taken into account. To grow Abitulon from seeds, standard seedling soil is used, which is disinfected and laid out in boxes along with a layer of drainage.
Indoor maple seeds are in a dense shell and are carefully pierced with a sharp needle, making notches.
Then the seeds are soaked for a day in a special composition. Then they are washed and wrapped in a dampened cloth until germination. The sprouted sprouts are planted in small boxes with drainage.
Keep seedlings in a warm room with good access to light. Watered moderately without waterlogging the soil. After the formation of adult leaves, they are transplanted into larger containers. Further, plants with a developed root system are determined in a volumetric vessel for further growth and colorful flowering.
