Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Description:

This variety features attractive, slender heart shaped leaves, and pendant yellow flowers with large scarlet calyces, that bloom from summer to frost, on gracefully arching branches; trailing nature makes it great for garden walls, or containers

Ornamental Features

Trailing Abutilon features bold nodding yellow bell-shaped flowers with scarlet calyces along the branches from early summer to mid fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive serrated heart-shaped leaves remain green in colour throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Trailing Abutilon is a multi-stemmed annual with a shapely form and gracefully arching foliage. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other garden plants with less refined foliage.

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, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Trailing Abutilon is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

Trailing Abutilon will grow to be about 7 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 7 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground. 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 pH, but grows best in sandy soils. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is not originally from North America.

Trailing Abutilon is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.