Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Chinese Bellflower, Indian Mallow, Parlor Maple

Description:

This indoor or outdoor dwarf variety produces watermelon-pink bell shaped flowers; lantern-like buds open to pendulous cup-shaped blooms that keep coming and coming; a perfect container plant; attracts hummingbirds

Ornamental Features

Patio Lantern™ Passion Abutilon features bold nodding red bell-shaped flowers with pink overtones along the branches from early spring to late fall. Its attractive lobed palmate leaves remain green in colour throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Patio Lantern™ Passion Abutilon is a multi-stemmed annual with a more or less rounded form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This plant will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Patio Lantern™ Passion Abutilon is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Patio Lantern™ Passion Abutilon will grow to be about 18 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. Although it's not a true annual, this fast-growing plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

Patio Lantern™ Passion Abutilon is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers and foliage against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.