(aka: Callianthe megapotamica) Hailing from the hot bed of many great garden plants...the semi-tropical/warm temperate region of southern Brazil and surrounding Uruguay and Argentina comes Brazilian bellflower. Abutilon megapotamicum is a fun and easy-to-grow hummingbird magnet for the perennial border. In the garden or in a hanging basket, Abutilon megapotamicum spreads to several feet wide in a single season. In the wild Abutilon megapotamicum reaches 8' tall, but in temperate climate gardens it rarely exceeds 6' tall x 10' wide and less when grown as a container plant. From late summer until frost, the plants are laden with charming 2" hanging, lantern-like flowers composed of red calyces above the yellow petals, ending with their bright red privates dangling beneath...all carefully arranged between the thumb-sized green leaves. How about a hot Brazilian for your garden? Maintenance: The deciduous stems usually re-sprout in spring, unless winter temperatures drop below 10 degrees F. If so, flowering maples will generally re-sprout from somewhere below the ground to slightly above the soil level. If your plant grows too large, you can cut it back all the way to the ground and it will quickly re-flush. About the only time we don't recommend cutting abutilon to the ground is in fall or winter. The ideal time to prune would be just prior to bud break in spring. There will often be very little dieback of stems during mild winters, in which case little to no pruning is necessary come spring. Abutilon will often flower all winter in a sheltered location in winter. Growing Conditions: While A. megapotamicum is quite tolerant of dry soils, it really explodes in evenly moist, rich, compost-enhanced soils. While flowering maple blooms well in spring in the shade, the summer flowers will be a bit sparse. When grown in full sun, the floral density all summer and fall is quite amazing. Natural Impacts: Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are all regular visitors to flowering maple plants. Nomenclature: Abutilon megapotamicum was formerly known as Abutilon vexillarium. Watch our Plant Spotlight video for more information.
