Abutilon pictum, commonly known as the Flowering Maple, Chinese Lantern or Jaba Hibiscus is a delightful and vibrant flowering plant that will surely brighten up any garden or indoor space. With its attractive bell-shaped flowers and lush green leaves, it is a popular choice among plant enthusiasts.
The Chinese Lantern plant is known for its exquisite flowers that resemble delicate bells hanging from slender stems. These flowers come in a variety of striking colors, including shades of orange, red, yellow, and even pink. The petals have a slightly ruffled texture, which adds to their charm.
When in full bloom, the plant becomes a spectacle of vibrant hues, attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to its nectar-filled blossoms. They are also a low maintenance flowering plant, hence you can grow them in your garden by following these tips.
How To Grow & Care For Chinese Lantern Plant?
- Climate: You can grow this alluring flowering plant in warm tropical to sub-tropical climates. Avoid growing them in regions that are prone to winter frost.
- USDA Zones: You can grow them in USDA zones 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, & 9.
- Soil & Potting Mix: Plant them in well drained loamy soils that are rich in organic matter and have good water retention capacity. But avoid clayey soils. Prepare potting mix with 40% garden soil + 40% dung manure + 20% river sand.
- Sunlight: Just like gerbera plant, you can also keep them under bright indirect sunlight. However, they also perform well under direct sunlight but avod keeping them under direct harsh afternoon sunlight.
- Watering: During the early stages of growth, keep the soil evenly moist but not waterlogged. Once they mature, then you can water whenever the top layer of the soil seems dry.
- Fertilizers: They are not heavy feeders, Start fertilizing from spring, i.e., from February. Apply one handful of dung manure or vermicompost + 1/2 teaspoon bonemeal or onion peel fertilizer once after every 30 days.
- Stalking & Pruning: As plant can grow up to 2 to 6 feet tall, it needs support, that’s why use wooden stick to give support to this flowering plant. Keep pinching off dead blossoms & pruning old branches to promote new flowers in the plant.
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