Description
Generous form of Abutilon x hybridum, perennial and semi-deciduous shrub, with a thick and regular habit and rapid growth: when fully developed it can grow more than 1.50 m tall and almost the same large. Lignified and well branched from the base, it has rigid and erect stems which branching repeatedly give a globular, rounded and compact shape to the plant. The leaves, thin and hairless, alternate and conspicuously petiolate, ovate-lanceolate or tricuspid in shape, with acute apexes and slightly indented margins, are dark green. From late spring to autumn, bell-shaped flowers with a showy central pistil of a delicate candy pink appear in profusion in the apical parts of the branches.
Suggestions
It likes sunny and bright locations, but in warmer regions, it prefers semi-shaded ones. It adapts to any type of soil, but it prefers rich, humid and well-drained ones. It does not tolerate the salinity typical of the sea winds of coastal locations, where planting it in protected corners is recommended; it does not bear prolonged periods of drought and indeed it takes advantage of periodic wetting in summer. Withstands minimum winter temperatures only a few degrees below zero, and therefore in areas of intense and protracted cold, it is recommended to plant it in a sheltered position, or to make a generous mulch with straw or leaves on the pedal or to shelter in a cool and bright environment in winter. In autumn, or sometimes in spring, risking a delayed flowering, it is possible to clean the plant from dry parts, old or broken branches and at the same time shortening the various stems to allow for a denser and denser growth, thus increasing the subsequent production of flowers. Perfect on terraces and balconies in medium-sized containers or pots; in the open ground it create, arranging various specimens in succession, unusual flower borders or even to embellish any corner of our garden in an original way as a single bush.
