What to do after the flowering of abutilon. Abutilon - care for "indoor maple" at home

Indoor plant abutilon allows you to create very sophisticated interior compositions. Indoor maple abutilon is not whimsical and not demanding on the organization of special care for it. It is enough to pick up a spacious ceramic pot and create in it excellent conditions for soil drainage. You can read about how to grow abutilon from the most common cuttings with your own hands in the proposed material. Here are given simple tips regarding the choice of the location of the pot, the organization of the irrigation system, the application of mineral fertilizers. You can grow the abutilon plant in a container culture and take it out to open ground after the onset of a stable positive temperature. This technique stimulates the growth of the shrub and gives an increase in shoots up to 20 cm per month.

Abutilon flower: photo and description

Abutilon - perennial shrub With beautiful leaves, shaped like maple flowers, bell-shaped, ranging from pink to orange color. Abutilon comes from the tropics and that is why he prefers a lot of light and spends the summer outdoors.

Family: Malvaceae.

Motherland. Tropics of South America, South Asia and Africa.

AT vivo grows in the tropics and subtropics.

Look at the abutilon flower in the photo and in the description, which shows the main types of plants for indoor breeding:

Botanical characteristic. This is an evergreen tree or shrub with leaves resembling maple leaves, which is why abutilon is often called " indoor maple».

Under good conditions, it grows up to 1.5–2 m. It has an unbranched thin brownish-purple stem. The leaves are alternate, on long petioles, 10–20 cm long; the leaf plate has a heart-shaped or oval shape, sometimes it is covered with sparse soft hairs. The color of the leaves is often green, but there are species with a golden-mottled color. AT summer period in the axils of the leaves, flowers develop, quite large, red, orange or yellow, bell-shaped. Darker veins are clearly visible on rounded petals. The flowers, depending on the species or hybrid, are red to white in color, similar to bluebell flowers.

Blooms from spring to autumn.

Types of abutilone

AT room conditions commonly grown types of abutilone, such as Sello (A. sellowianum), abutilone hybrid (A. hybridum), abutilon megapotamus (A. megapotamicum).

Abutilon megapotamus(A. megapolamicum): ampelous plant suitable for placement in a hanging basket; when tied to a support, it can grow upwards. Lantern flowers hang down from thin stems, hence English name"Weeping Chinese Lantern"

Abutilon vine-leaved (A. vitifolium)- flowers Pink colour, blooms in May; Abutilon Darwin (A. darvinii),

Abutilon Indian (A. indicum)- cream colored flowers; Abutilon striped (A. striatum)- small decorative yellow-green leaves.

Abutilon hybrid (Abutilon hybridum). Its varieties have flowers - "bells" of orange, yellow, red, pink or just white. There are forms with variegated leaves.

Series Bella mixed - a mixture of colors. It includes compact plants, with large (up to 8 cm in diameter) flowers of pastel colors - apricot, pink, yellow.

A mixture of colors Large flowered mixed - plants 50-80 cm tall, flowering profusely. Flowers typical for abutilon size (up to 4 cm) and shape. The tones are very diverse, in particular, raspberry is found.

Look at the Abutilon indoor maple in the photo, which shows representatives of all the species listed above:

Growing abutilone in a pot: home care

Landing. Abutilon seeds in a pot are sown in March in light soil, sand plus peat to a depth of up to 5 mm. Keep in greenhouse conditions at a temperature of 20 degrees, frequent spraying and ventilation. On the 20th day, a seedling should appear, which, with proper care and transplantation, can bloom in the same year. For cuttings, use the shoots that you cut. It should have three leaves, up to 15 cm long, and be sure to remove the buds. Care, as well as for seedlings, rooting will occur in 4 weeks, the dived stalk should be transplanted into a pot with a diameter of 7 cm.

Lighting. When growing and caring for abutilon, you should know that the flower belongs to light-loving crops, therefore, for normal growth and development, it is necessary to provide it with bright diffused lighting and a fairly large free space. Prefers a bright place, but protected from the midday sun. It is recommended to plant a plant garden, greenhouse land, sand plus 20 percent fertilizer from manure and algae, or use special soil for palm trees. You need to feed it during the flowering period every 10 days with liquid fertilizers for flowering plants. In winter, you should try to maintain sufficiently dry air at a fairly low temperature of 10-15 degrees. With temperature drops and drafts, the plant sheds leaves.

Temperature. Being a heat-loving plant, abutilon prefers that the temperature be maintained at 20–22 ° C in summer. In winter, a cool content is necessary - 12-13 ° C. At high temperatures, spraying is required.

Substrate - sheet and sod land, humus, peat, sand (2:1:1; 1:0.5).

Air humidity. Abutilon responds well to spraying with water at room temperature at high temperatures. It also tolerates dry air at low temperatures.

When organizing care for abutilon at home, you need to know that abundant watering is required from April to August, and moderate watering in winter. During active vegetation, the plant should be watered abundantly. With a lack of moisture or irregular watering, it can drop leaves and buds.

Fertilizer. Throughout the growing season, every 20 days, abutilon is fed with complex mineral fertilizers. You can use "Rainbow", "Ideal", etc. It is good to feed the plant with organic fertilizer at least once during the summer.

In late February - early March, to enhance flowering, shorten the elongated shoots by half or a third of the length.

Transfer. Every year, the plant needs to be repotted and the young twigs that had flowers should be cut off, from a third to two thirds of the twig, the more pruning, the more flowers. To make a bush beautiful in shape, you need to cut off rotten and dried up branches and pinch the tops, if necessary, tie them to a support. Abutilon is transplanted in March into a larger pot, the difference should be 5 cm or more in diameter and height. Additional feeding is usually not required. Soil - 1 part turf, 1 part leaf, 1 part peat land, 1 part humus, 1 part sand. The dishes are preferably spacious, but for abundant flowering, the earthy ball should be well braided with roots.

Reproduction of abutilon

Reproduction of abutilon is available by seeds and cuttings if the leaves are green and only by cuttings if they are variegated. Also breeds apical cuttings, which must be rooted in the sand under the film. Receive them at spring pruning. It can also be propagated by seeds, and not only species, but also named series. Seeds are sown at the end of winter in bowls in loose soil. Shoots appear quite amicably in 2-3 weeks.

Herbaceous cuttings are harvested during pruning. For the formation of roots, the cuttings are placed in a glass of water, and then planted in loose, sandy, moistened soil, covered with a plastic bag and kept at high air temperature.

Growing problems.

In room conditions, it is often attacked by pests such as aphids, whiteflies, red spider mite. If any pest is found, all the affected leaves and buds must be picked, wipe the leaves on both sides with a soapy sponge to mechanical cleaning pests. In case of severe damage, spraying with decis is used (1 ml per 1 liter of water). If a red spider mite is infested, increase the humidity around the plant.

At excessive watering or when the earthen coma dries up, leaves, flowers and buds may also fall off.

Note. Abutilon is a rather unpretentious plant, and it is not difficult to grow it even for beginners. indoor floriculture. It grows very quickly, and in order for the plant to have more lush crown, at the end of winter or early spring, it is cut to half the height of the shoots. The pot should not be too big abundant flowering occurs only if the earthen ball is braided with roots.

Watch how abutilon is grown in the video, which demonstrates the basic techniques of agricultural technology:

Abutilon is called indoor maple for the similarity of leaves with maple foliage. This species has about 100 species. In India, the fiber of this plant is used to weave burlap.

Abutilon is a shrub with abundant branching. The leaves are large up to 10 cm in length. The flower has the shape of a bell, occurs once or in pairs of flowers. Among the species there are varieties with bright leaves and inflorescences of scarlet or sunny hue and large quantity stamens. Hybrids are different long flowering and a wide variety of colors. More home maples are planted in large rooms and offices.

Varieties and types of abutilon

Bush with a height reaching up to two and a half meters. The stems are soft, slightly pubescent. Leaves large sizes, the shade is dark olive slightly hairy in appearance resembling a maple leaf and their length is about 16 cm. The inflorescences are collected in bouquets of 4-5 pieces, the shade of the flowers is purple-bluish with rare dark stripes. Flowering occurs in the first month of spring.

This species has American roots; its second name is variegated abutilon. This species has many different varieties. The height of the bush is about one and a half meters, the shade of the bark is brownish. The foliage is pubescent with an olive tint, the shape of the leaf is similar to the maple, the length of the leaves is about 13 cm.

Inflorescences, in shape, in the form of bells, their length is up to 6 cm. The shade of the petals depends on the variety, it is found bright yellow, scarlet, burgundy, white.

Rare view. Stems, pubescent about a meter in height with large leaves, like blades, about 20 cm long and 10 cm wide. lower leaves have more blades somewhere around 7 pieces, and the top ones are only three. The inflorescences are bright sunny with scarlet stripes, bell-shaped. The inflorescence is about 5 cm in diameter. Flowering occurs from spring to autumn.

Or Amazonian the plant reaches a height of about one and a half meters, the stems are thin, pubescent. The foliage has an oval-oblong shape. The leaves are maple-like, dark green, about 8 cm long. Inflorescences solitary, bell-shaped with a scarlet tinge of the corolla and sunny petals.

Or striped . The stems of this species are small, soft, heart-shaped foliage on elongated legs of 6 lobes, smooth with an olive tint and light patches along the edge. The shape of the flower is a bell, a shade of orange with scarlet stripes. Blooms in autumn.

This species is slightly branched. The height of the bush is about two meters. Stems are pubescent. The foliage is similar to maple in shape. Peach-colored inflorescences with light pinkish veins. Blooms from mid-summer to winter.

This type of ampelous is grown in hanging planters. Most bright representative kind.

A new species, different from others, it is a lot of flowers about 8 cm in diameter. Branching bush. The leaves are olive-colored, smooth, oval-oblong.

His homeland is considered South America. Prefers a warm climate. The shape of the leaf is maple-like. Flowering occurs from spring to autumn, sometimes all year. Prefers pruning shoots to form a beautiful shape.

Large shrub with multiple blooms. The hue of the flowers is rich orange with warm veins reminiscent of a lantern. Foliage like maple leaves, glossy, green.

Abutilon "Organza" this is bright view with green smooth leaves in the shape of a maple with a multi-colored shade of bell-shaped inflorescences.

Abutilon home care

The plant prefers diffused lighting, but easily tolerates direct hits. sun rays. Afraid of drafts and drops temperature regime. AT winter time it is necessary to provide additional artificial light.

The air temperature in the summer should correspond to 25 degrees, and in the cold season about 16, otherwise the shrub will throw off the leaves.

Watering the plant should be regular and constant spraying of leaves in the summer on an ongoing basis. In the cold season, it is better to reduce watering and spraying at intervals to dry the soil.

The plant requires fertilizer during the growth period, once every 14 days. For this, mineral and organic fertilizers are suitable.

How to cut abutilon

Crown formation helps to provide the necessary and nice shape plants to suit your design. You need to cut off dry and weak branches, cut through thick shoots. Proper pruning will allow the plant to develop well and bloom profusely. It is better to pinch the tops of the elongated shoots. In hybrid varieties, it is necessary to cut off large stems in order to slightly increase flowering.

Abutilon primer

The plant prefers light and acidic or neutral soil. You can purchase a ready-made substrate or prepare it yourself, such soil should include humus, leaf soil, turf soil and sand, all in equal quantities.

How to transplant abutilon

Young plants are best transplanted every year, and adults once every three years. The flower prefers a cramped container with a good perforated bottom, otherwise the plant may not bloom for a long time in a large container.

Abutilon from seeds at home

Seeds are sown in the soil from peat and sand to a depth of half a centimeter in the spring. Covered with a film, periodically sprayed and ventilated. Shoots begin to appear in a month, sometimes earlier. Optimum temperature, for growing abutilone from seeds is the limit of 19 to 20 degrees. Variegated varieties are not recommended to be grown from seed, as generic characteristics are lost.

Diseases and pests

• Leaves turn yellow and fall off - the cause of temperature changes or improper watering.
• Why the leaves of abutilon turn yellow is the reason for the lack of light, and the pallor of the foliage can also indicate this. It is necessary to provide sufficient light with an artificial lamp.
• The pests of the plant are aphids, scale insects and spider mites, for their destruction it is necessary to treat them with insecticides.

• Why abutilon does not bloom - the reason may be a lack of light, fertilizer, lack of pruning. If you do not neglect these care tips, the plant will delight you with constant flowering.
• Abutilon hung up the leaves, and the tips began to dry out, which means that the plant needs to increase the conditions for humidifying the air and spray more frequently.
• If the plant begins to drop the lower leaves, this is the reason for the lack of fertilizer.

During the entire growing season of Abutilon, we resort to pruning for:

- thinning of an excessively dense crown of compact hybrids for better illumination of all branches;

- shortening of elongated branches, usually drooping under the weight of leaves and flowers;

- removal of dry and weak branches - sanitary pruning of the crown;

- cardinal pruning of Abutilon in order to rejuvenate the crown or for the convenience of placing plants;

- crown formation in order to achieve a certain decorative effect.

Since Abutilon lays buds on young shoots, the main task is to form a compact, moderately sparse crown using pruning. This operation should be carried out no earlier than the end of February-beginning of March. At this time, solar activity increases and the plant is actively starting to grow.

When pruning and shaping the crown, one should take into account Abutilon's own growth pattern. Each hybrid has its own.

The crown of some plants, indeed, has to be thinned out. For example, Abutilon Bella Deep Coral independently forms a compact bush with numerous shoots, densely overgrown with side branches. In order to allow the flowers to open freely and not crowd each other, you have to thin out the bush. It is important that each branch is not deprived of the attention of the sun, otherwise it becomes weak and full flowering cannot be expected from it.

Pruning in order to shorten the upper and (or) side shoots is carried out throughout the growing season, as a rule, in medium-sized and tall plants that have an undulating flowering period. Thus, we form a crown, set the branches in the desired direction and size, stimulate lateral branching, and therefore contribute to further abundant flowering.

Sanitary pruning is carried out as necessary when it is necessary to get rid of a broken shoot, cut off the bare part of a branch, etc.

If you do not plan to plant an overgrown plant in a larger volume, then trimming 1/3 of the root system and crown will solve this problem.

autumn cardinal(removal of more than 50% of the crown volume) pruning is carried out in order to rejuvenate the crown and make it easier to place plants on limited area in winter period. Only strong plants with a healthy root system can withstand such an execution. And, of course, you need to understand that with the removal of the main branches, the entire usual Abutilon schedule changes. Watering should be reduced, and lighting should be increased if possible (which is difficult to achieve without artificial lighting during the autumn season).

During normal wintering without additional illumination with lamps, Abutilon is either not cut off at all, or all formative pruning should be done no later than mid-August, so that the plant leaves to winter with leaves. (Photo 1. Abutilon overgrown after cardinal pruning)

Photo 1

Simply put, the rules for pruning or shaping at the end of the season will depend on the conditions under which the plant will overwinter.

Miniature hybrids and newly rooted young cuttings before winter are better not to cut!

For beginners and all doubters, I would advise not to conduct a cardinal autumn pruning Abutilon, and wait until the end of February - the beginning of March, when the plant, with increasing solar activity starts to grow, and prune the elongated shoots at this time of the year.

If the plant did not survive the winter well, there is a stunted appearance, pruning can aggravate the situation. It would be better to cut the stem best quality and try to grow the plant again. And, of course, try to restore the mother liquor.

As for the decorative formation, Abutilon is a very flexible plant that allows you to create anything with your crown. Sometimes you can see the amazing results of creation: Abutilon in the form of a standard tree or weaving stems in the form of braids of different varieties; formation of a crown in the form of pyramids or columns.

In general, if you came up with the idea of ​​​​creating a radically trendy plant haircut - get Abutilon!

Room abutilon is beautiful bush, which decorate the interiors in landscape design, to create a beautiful background. Growing a plant from seeds requires experience, skill and a period of time. The flowers are brightly colored and densely lush green. Let's take a closer look at how abutilone is cared for at home, what are the varieties of the plant.

plant description

The abutilon plant can grow as a shrub, tree, or herb. The trunk grows from 1.5 to 3 meters, it is covered with bristles or hairs.

Indoor maple has sharp or whole, with five-lobed cutouts, leaves. Their length reaches 10 centimeters. There are varieties of abutilon that have leaves similar to maple leaves. The plant branches profusely.

Shrubs produce bell-shaped flowers that can grow singly or in groups.

Most plants have brightly colored leaves and flowers. For example, in plants with white and variegated leaves, flowers have orange, bright yellow or red stamens. garden plants there are a small number of abutilon varieties, therefore, on their basis, beautiful hybrid and decorative varieties are bred.

To decorate an apartment or garden, experienced flower growers recommend choosing hybrid varieties, as they are different forms, shades, look beautiful, and also grow very quickly. Therefore, a winter garden, a large building, a house or an office is most often landscaped with abutilon maple.

There are about 150 varieties of abutilone. If create good conditions cultivation, you can get four-meter plants.

Home maple is of the following types:

• Abutilon Sello was derived from the striped variety of abutilone. Its height reaches two meters when growing a house on a windowsill. The plant has straight, branched stems and three-lobed, well-pointed leaves. Blooms from June until the first frost. Blooms in shades of purple with pink veins;
• abutilon hybrid - perennial, evergreen, bushy plant with brown bark. It has inflorescences-bells, three-lobed slightly pubescent leaves. Petioles of flowers can be 12 centimeters long. The plant blooms in white or burgundy shades, grows up to 1.5 meters;
• abutilon Darwin has silky shoots on long petioles with good pubescence. At the very bottom of the stem there are leaves with seven lobes, and a little higher with three. The plant blooms in April with large bright orange flowers with reddish veins;
• Amazonian abutilon is a compact plant, 1.5 meters high. The plant has oval foliage with twisted, serrated edges and bright, in green. Long petioles are equipped with yellowish peduncles. With the right and good care such a variety of maple, when grown at home, blooms for all twelve months;
• abutilon vine has pubescent shoots with velvety leaves, lilac or blue flowers with dark veins. Grows up to two meters. Blooms from late spring;
• striped abutilon has short and thin stems, smooth heart-shaped green foliage with white specks along the edges. Blooms golden yellow decorative flowers located on long, red corollas. Blooms in August;
• Abutilon Juliet blooms throughout the year large flowers. This variety grows very quickly with an annual growth of 50 centimeters. Blooms for the first time in the fifth month after sowing seeds;
• decorative and compact variety Abutilon Bella looks straight and branches well. It produces many bright, large flowers with green leaves on its stems. There is also a similar variety Isabella, but its flowers and leaves are much larger;
• Bellevue plant blooms with red, yellow, orange, pink dangling bells among green big leaves. If you take good care of him, the hybrid will grow beautiful, lush and two meters high;
• the Indian variety of abutilone is a charming, annual, herbaceous plant with small bell flowers and beautiful thick, velvety leaves. Peduncles are light cream on the outside and darker on the inside;
• Painted abutilon is a small shrub with short, soft shoots that are sometimes barkless. Leaves on long petioles are heart-shaped. Flowers in the form of a bell, red-golden large length. Blooms from August to September;
• Painted abutilon has beautiful variety called thompsoni Vetch. Its height reaches two meters. It has large, hairless leaves, dark green in color with bright, yellow spots. Flowers are large simple or double, red or yellow color. Blooms for one month - June.

Read also: Features of transplanting and caring for amaryllis

In addition to the varieties described above, some flower growers grow ampelous types of abutilon.

Features of growing a plant from seeds

Abutilon from seeds at home can grow well if he has good growing conditions and proper care.

Growing abutilon from seeds is to comply with the following rules:

1. The temperature in the room should be no higher than 25 degrees Celsius. In summer, when it is very hot, it is better to put the flowerpot in the garden in the shade or on the balcony.
2. The place should be shaded or with diffused light. Twice a day, the plant is recommended to be exposed for several hours in the sun.
3. In winter, the air temperature in the room should be between 10 - 15 degrees Celsius. If the plant will be long time at a temperature of 10 degrees, it will begin to dry out.
4. Because the plant loves high humidity, it must be sprayed regularly and watered with enough water.
5. Prepare loose soil with good drainage.
6. Choose good quality seeds and soak them in root solution for 24 hours.
7. Sow the seeds in flat containers at a depth of 5 millimeters.
8. Cover the crops with a thick film.
9. Moisturize daily upper layer soil with drip irrigation.
10. After three weeks, the first shoots will appear. When one leaf appears, the seedlings can be dived into separate peat pots.

Within three months, a good root system, so the seedlings can be transplanted into large pots. Four months after the emergence of sprouts, there may already be the first flowering of abutilon. Further care flowers are carried out similarly to the care of adult plants.

Features of caring for abutilone

Caring for abutilone at home is easy, but subject to certain rules. To get abundant flowering every year, transplant the plant into a properly selected container. Abutilon blooms only after the root system completely envelops the soil. Therefore, it is recommended to transplant it into a container, slightly larger than the previous container.

It is important to remember that flowers do not tolerate very bright light. In summer, pots are best placed in a shady place or on a balcony.

We select the soil, place and lighting

mix leaf ground with peat and sand in the same amount. You can also mix soddy clay soil (2 parts) with humus (1 part), leafy soil (1 part) and sand (0.5 parts).

Read also: Features of planting and caring for ampelous begonia

It is best to grow homemade maple on the window on the south side of the apartment. Make sure that direct sunlight does not fall on it - shade the flowers in the heat. It is important to ensure good lighting. In winter, provide additional lighting.

In the warm season, the plant can be grown on the balcony, protecting it from strong winds, rain, draft.

From March to September, domestic maple is fed twice a month with mineral fertilizers or slurry. If abutilon continues to bloom in winter, you can continue to fertilize it.

Plant transplantation is carried out annually in the spring. Adult abutilons are transplanted every three years. When transplanting a pot, you need to buy a couple of centimeters more than before. If the container is too large, the flower may not bloom, as it will use all its strength for rooting and growth. After transplanting, when the pot is filled with roots, the flowers will bloom.

Irrigation Features

In spring and summer, with active growth and flowering of abutilon, abundant watering of the soil should be carried out. A couple of hours after watering, excess water must be drained so that the roots do not rot.

It is important to ensure that the soil does not dry out, as the plant can throw off the crown and flower stalks. Since November, most varieties of abutilon fall into a dormant stage. During this period, watering should be reduced. Moderate watering is maintained until February.

Cropping Features

Since abutilon grows rapidly, it is important to trim it from time to time. The procedure is carried out in the spring. Before activating growth, cut the shoots to a third or two thirds of the length. Pruning depends on the size of the bush or tree.

Thanks to pruning, the crown will form beautifully and compactly, flowering will be plentiful and long. Young shoots are pinched at the top. After the trimming and pinching procedures, the home maple must be transferred to a room with warm and humid air.

Read also: Reasons for not flowering begonias and how to eliminate them

Pest protection

Often the plant is attacked by a spider mite, whitefly, mealybug, scale insect or aphid. To prevent pest attacks, regularly inspect the maple and moisten the air around it.

If the plant is damaged, apply special preparations bought in a flower shop.

Elimination of possible problems in the cultivation of abutilone

If you do not follow the rules of care, home maple is exposed various problems. For example:

• with a lack of trace elements, the leaves begin to turn yellow, become covered with small spots;
• in poor light, the stems are drawn out, the leaves become dull;
• if the apartment has hot air and direct sunlight falls on the flowers, their leaves curl and the tops dry out;
• in drafts, temperature fluctuations, drying out or too wet soil buds and leaves fall;
• with insufficient watering and dry air, the tips of the leaves dry up.

To avoid these problems, you need to take care of indoor maple.

The abutilon flower is propagated by seeds or cuttings. Growing abutilon from seeds has been described above. The seed method of propagation of plants, with green leaves, allows you to save all maternal signs. But, most often they resort to cuttings.

Cutting procedure:

1. Cut cuttings of 12 centimeters from healthy, developed shoots.
2. Remove buds and lower leaves.
3. Mix peat with sand in the same amount and fill the soil in containers.
4. Plant the cut cuttings in the prepared soil.
5. Cover with foil and place in a room with an air temperature of 25 degrees.
6. The film must be removed to moisten the soil and ventilate the seedlings.
7. After 30 days, the cuttings take root well and are transplanted into separate containers.

With the help of cuttings, all varieties of home maple are propagated. This method is especially suitable for variegated varieties.

The procedure for propagation by cuttings is carried out in spring (green shoots) or in August (semi-woody cuttings).

It belongs to the Malvaceae family and has nothing to do with real maples. And he was nicknamed home maple for the shape of the leaves, somewhat reminiscent of maple.

Abutilon comes from the tropics and subtropics of America, Australia, Asia and Africa, so it is warm and photophilous. However, it remains quite unpretentious plant.

The most attractive quality of abutilon is its long flowering. If it has enough light, it can bloom all year round. If, for some reason, the conditions for home maple are not too favorable, flowers still bloom on it, but the flowering period is reduced. Most often, abutilon blooms from April to November.

Abutilone Care

Abutilons bribe with their unpretentiousness- they do not need constant care or the fulfillment of some tricky conditions. For long flowering - you need light. In order not to fly around the leaves - fertile loose soil.

The best place for abutilon in the apartment - this is a glazed balcony. There are references in the literature that indoor maples can withstand a short drop in temperature to below zero, but it is better not to try to check this in practice.

in winter abutilones need a slightly lower temperature (10-15°C). Watering should be reduced, but make sure that the soil does not dry out. If the temperature is higher, then water as usual, as the abutilon will continue to rise.

By spring abutilon is heavily pruned - about half shortening the shoots and trunk. If this is not done, then in one season abutilon is able to reach a height of up to 1.5 meters. Watering in the spring should be quite plentiful, and you also need to feed the plant with complex fertilizer. autumn care for abutilon is similar to spring - at this time you can also cut the plant, you need to water and fertilize.

Summer it would be best to put abutilon on Fresh air. Last resort - on the balcony. But if possible, it is best to transport indoor maple to the country house and put it in the garden. The abutilone container should be positioned so as to protect it from the wind, but at the same time, so that the plant receives a lot of light. Such a place can be a veranda or a secluded corner near the wall of the house.

In summer, abutilon also requires regular abundant watering.

When choosing a place for your indoor maple, keep in mind that with its light-loving nature, abutilon can suffer from burns from direct sunlight. In this case, the leaves of the plant darken at the edges, deform and fall off. Also, the sun can “burn out” patterns on flowers and leaves - the color will become plain and pale.

For abutilon hybrid and sello, a short stay in the open sun will not be fatal, but the megapotamian abutilon must be shaded.

Concerning protection of abutilon from pests: the main problem- this is damage to the tender leaves of indoor maple by a variety of insects (aphids, whiteflies, scale insects). In this case, you need to treat abutilon with any insecticidal drug available to you. By the way, if your abutilon spends summer outdoors, then the likelihood of getting sick with these indoor pests he has much less.

Reproduction of abutilon

Abutilon propagated by cuttings separating them from mature young shoots. They can be rooted quite easily - in perlite, a light substrate, or even directly in water. Roots grow from cuttings in a couple of weeks.

Some abutilon hybrids can also be propagated by seeds. To do this, before planting, the seeds must be soaked in water or filed on the shell. Seeds germinate for quite a long time - 1-3 months, all this time it is necessary to maintain a temperature of 22-28 ° C. Young plants begin to bloom somewhere after 3.5 months.

Types of abutilone

Although the genus Abutilon includes more than 150 plants, only a few species are used for decorative floriculture.

Abutilon striped or variegated abutilon (Abutilon pictum, Abutilon striatum) is one of good examples when the disease did a good deed. After all, the strokes on the leaves of this abutilon and the bright ornament on the flowers are caused by a virus. For this reason, when propagated by seeds, it is impossible to preserve the decorative effect that distinguishes this plant; it is propagated only by cuttings.

Abutilon megapotamus(Abutilon megapotamicum) - has flexible shoots and green velvety leaves. The flowers are two-tone, very decorative, reminiscent of lanterns - the calyx is red, and the petals are yellow. The plant is native to Brazil.

Abutilon hybrid(Abutilon x hybridum) - very attractive plant obtained by crossing several natural species. There are varieties with the most different color petals - orange, yellow, red,. The shape of the flowers resembles a bell, sometimes the petals are decorated with contrasting veins - dark or light. The leaves also come in all shades of green and a variety of shapes - not only reminiscent of a maple leaf, but also oval or heart-shaped.

Abutilon cello(Abutilon sellovianum) is one of the most common types of indoor maple. Bell-shaped flowers are orange, on the petals - a mesh pattern. It grows rapidly and short time can reach two meters in height.

Abutilon Darwin(Abutilon darwinii) is one of the species that was used to create the hybrid abutilon. Differs in large flowers and velvety dark green leaves.

Abutilon suntense(Abutilon suntense) - a very tall species (1.5-4 m) with large lilac flowers that reach up to 10 cm in diameter. More suitable for growing in conditions winter garden than in an apartment - because of its size.