Flowering-maple (Abutilon × hybridum 'Bella Red')
Discover Abutilon × hybridum 'Bella Red', a compact Flowering-maple admired for its reddish-orange, lantern-like blooms and low maintenance needs.
Complete Plant Information
Overview
The Abutilon × hybridum ‘Bella Red’, commonly known as Flowering-maple, offers exceptional ornamental value with its distinctly lobed, maple-like foliage and prolific seasonal blooming. This cultivar is celebrated for remaining compact, making it an excellent choice for container gardening or smaller garden spaces where its signature reddish-orange, pendulous flowers can be easily appreciated. As a semi-tropical shrub, it thrives in warmth, providing vibrant color through the growing season.
This particular type of Flowering-maple is valued for its low maintenance requirements when situated in suitable conditions. While these hybrids can grow quite large in their native subtropical ranges (Zones 9-10), the ‘Bella Red’ cultivar naturally remains a manageable dwarf size, rarely exceeding 1.5 feet tall outdoors. Gardeners appreciate the ease with which Abutilon × hybridum ‘Bella Red’ brightens shaded corners or containers.
For those outside subtropical regions, treating this plant as a seasonal annual or overwintering it indoors is simple. The beauty of Abutilon × hybridum ‘Bella Red’ lies in its ability to deliver a tropical flair to any sunny or partially shaded spot, producing lantern-shaped flowers that attract attention until the first hard frost.
Fast Facts
- Plant Family: Malvaceae
- Plant Type: Broadleaf evergreen
- Hardiness Zones: USDA Zones 9-10
- Size at Maturity:
- Height: 1-1.5 ft
- Spread: 1-1.5 ft
- Bloom Time: Seasonal bloomer
- Bloom Description: Reddish-orange
- Sun Exposure: Full sun to part shade
- Water Needs: Medium
- Maintenance Level: Low
How to Grow
For optimal performance, plant your Flowering-maple in rich, well-drained soil. While it tolerates full sun, in very hot summers, the foliage of Abutilon × hybridum ‘Bella Red’ may wilt by afternoon; morning sun or dappled shade is preferable to prevent scorch, especially for variegated forms. Ensure the soil remains consistently moist, as these plants abhor drying out completely.
Watering should adhere to a medium schedule, focusing on keeping the soil damp but never soggy. Stems on young plants can be weak; routinely pinch the tips of younger Abutilon × hybridum ‘Bella Red’ to encourage a bushier, more compact habit, which is ideal for this dwarf cultivar.
In USDA Zones 9-10, these shrubs can be maintained outdoors year-round. For colder climates, you must transition them indoors before frost. Taking tip cuttings in late summer is the standard method for ensuring you can overwinter healthy specimens indoors, where they require bright, direct light and cooler temperatures for best results.
Landscape Uses
The compact nature of the Abutilon × hybridum ‘Bella Red’ makes it exceptionally versatile in the landscape. It excels when used as an edger in protected borders or as a standout specimen in containers, window boxes, or pots. Its upright, bushy habit lends itself well to mixed plantings where its unique flowers can emerge above lower-growing annuals.
When selecting partners for your Flowering-maple, look for plants with similar water and sun requirements, favoring those that offer contrasting foliage textures or colors to highlight the lantern blooms. Because it is a semi-tropical plant, it blends beautifully with other heat-loving annuals like petunias or impatiens in mixed container arrangements in northern zones.
Even in its suggested use as an annual, Abutilon × hybridum ‘Bella Red’ performs admirably, filling in spaces quickly with color throughout the hot months. If grown permanently in Zones 9-10, it serves as a fantastic, low-maintenance foundation shrub that offers seasonal interest.
Standout Features
Flower Qualities
- Showy
Noteworthy Characteristics
Abutilon is a large genus in the Mallow family. Flowering maple (Abutilon × hybridum) is a popular group of hybrids that are semi-tropical, frost-tender shrubs typically growing 8-10’ tall in Zones 9-10 where in may be left in the ground year-round. In colder climates, they will grow more compact (to 2-4’ tall in a single season). Lantern-like buds open to solitary, pendulous, bell- to cup-shaped flowers (to 3” diameter) with five overlapping petals and significant staminal columns typical of the mallow family. ‘Bella Red’ is a compact, dwarf cultivar that can be expected to grow to only 1-1.5 feet in a season, featuring large 3-inch reddish-orange flowers from late summer into fall.
Tolerances
Potential Problems
Potential insect problems for Flowering-maple include whitefly, scale, and spider mites, especially when grown in warmer conditions or indoors. Mealybugs are a distinct threat to overwintered houseplants. Regular inspection is key; use insecticidal soap treatments at the first sign of infestation.
Be vigilant regarding soil moisture issues, as plants abhor drying out. Root rot can occur in overly saturated conditions, while cultural stress can also invite fungal issues like rust and leaf spot.
In some cases, abutilon mosaic virus can affect the foliage. If you suspect viral issues, removal may be necessary. Always ensure good air circulation, especially when growing the plant indoors, to minimize fungal and pest outbreaks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hardiness zones is Flowering-maple suitable for?
The Abutilon × hybridum ‘Bella Red’ is winter hardy in USDA Zones 9 to 10, thriving outdoors year-round only in these warmer regions.
How large does Flowering-maple grow?
This compact cultivar, Abutilon × hybridum ‘Bella Red’, is expected to reach a height between 1 to 1.5 feet with a comparable spread when actively growing.
What sun exposure does Flowering-maple need?
This plant prefers full sun to part shade. For best results, especially in intense summer heat, position it where it receives morning sun but is shaded from the hot afternoon rays.
When does Flowering-maple bloom?
Abutilon × hybridum ‘Bella Red’ is classified as a seasonal bloomer, typically showcasing its striking reddish-orange flowers throughout the growing season.
Conclusion
The dwarf Abutilon × hybridum ‘Bella Red’ offers exceptional visual rewards for the low maintenance it demands, making it a gardener favorite for its unique flowers and contained size. Whether used as a bold container specimen or a colorful annual bedding plant, this Flowering-maple provides tropical elegance. Check your local climate to determine if you can grow it permanently, or plan ahead to bring your Abutilon × hybridum ‘Bella Red’ indoors before the first frost hits.
Propagation Tips
Propagating Abutilon × hybridum ‘Bella Red’ is straightforward, primarily relying on taking tip cuttings. Late summer is the ideal time to take these cuttings if your goal is to overwinter the plant indoors, ensuring you have healthy stock for the following year. Cuttings root relatively easily under warm conditions with high humidity, allowing you to multiply your dwarf Flowering-maple easily.
Alternatively, these hybrids can also be successfully grown from seed if you wish to start new plants from scratch. Successfully propagated plants, whether from seed or cuttings, thrive best when given plenty of bright, direct sunlight when kept as houseplants during winter dormancy or cool periods.
Container Growing
Due to its inherent tendency to remain compact—growing only 1 to 1.5 feet—Abutilon × hybridum ‘Bella Red’ is perfectly suited for container life. Ensure the potting mix is well-draining to avoid the root rot that can occur with excessively moist soils. Keep containers consistently moist but never waterlogged.
Pinching stem tips on younger container-grown plants is crucial to promote the bushy, compact structure that gives this dwarf cultivar its strong appeal. If overwintered indoors, place containers in the brightest window available, as sufficient light is key to keeping the plant healthy until spring planting.
