{"id":3878,"date":"2023-01-16T07:42:27","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T15:42:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=3878"},"modified":"2023-01-16T07:42:27","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T15:42:27","slug":"maple-by-any-other-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/maple-by-any-other-name\/","title":{"rendered":"Maple By Any Other Name"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"abutilon<\/a>I have had a crush on abutilon or \u201cparlor maple\u201d plants for the longest time.\u00a0 It might be because I love their hollyhock-like flowers.\u00a0 Or perhaps it is because I live in a Victorian house and the room that I refer to as the\u201d living room\u201d would once have been called \u201cthe parlor\u201d.\u00a0 It stands to reason that parlors cry out for parlor maples. I know mine does.\u00a0 It might also be that while winter is not even one third over\u2014officially that is\u2014I am longing for more color in my life and in my house.<\/p>\n

Parlor maples are sometimes also known as \u201cChinese lanterns\u201d, \u201cflowering maple\u201d or even \u201cIndian maple\u201d.\u00a0 Sticklers for proper Latin names refer to the common commercial varieties as Abutilon x hybridum, which means that the plants in question are the result of successful crosses between two or more abutilon species.\u00a0 As with humans, ancestry can be complicated.<\/p>\n

What is not complicated is the enduring popularity of parlor maples.\u00a0 The species and hybrids are classified as small, frost-tender subshrubs, which simply means that they the plants combine woody stems with relatively small stature\u2014usually two to four feet-tall.\u00a0 Parlor maple enthusiasts who live in cold-winter climates can easily grow parlor maples as houseplants and keep size at a reasonable level by pruning regularly and conquering the urge to repot in ever larger containers.<\/p>\n

The \u201cmaple\u201d part of the parlor maple name comes from the fact that the plants\u2019 lobed leaves resemble maple foliage.\u00a0 The resemblance goes no deeper.\u00a0 Maples are part of the Acer genus and parlor maples belong to the large Malvaceae or mallow family that is also home to hollyhocks, hibiscus, okra and cotton.\u00a0 Like many mallows, abutilon flowers sport five large petals apiece, except in double flowered forms, like the frilly pink \u2018Victorian Lady\u2019. Those petals surround a prominent central staminal column that is also characteristic of most other common mallows.<\/p>\n

When the Victorians grew parlor maples in their parlors or conservatories, the flowers were bell-shaped and pendulous, in shades of yellow, orange, pink or red. That situation persisted, and even as recently as 1997, when celebrated plantsmen Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix produced their lavishly illustrated book, Indoor and Greenhouse Plants,<\/em> all the parlor maples shown had bell-shaped blooms.\u00a0 Now the story has changed. Some modern plants, like the flashy \u2018Red Tiger\u2019 with petals feathered in yellow and red, still bear flowers in that shape, but breeders, like the prolific Staten Island plant maven Sage Reynolds, have produced many stellar varieties with outward-facing flowers.\u00a0 The color range has also expanded as well, and includes peachy shades as well as bi-colors.\u00a0 Some varieties, like the Thompsonii variety of Abutilon pictum, feature leaves variegated in cream.<\/p>\n

Breeders have also answered the current demand for smaller varieties, introducing cultivars like \u2018Little Sunshine\u2019, with yellow blooms and a maximum height of two feet.\u00a0 Even the smallest parlor\u2014or apartment kitchen\u2014can accommodate abutilons in the \u2018Bella\u2019 series that grow to only 15 inches.<\/p>\n

Those of us in cold winter climates can keep our parlor maples indoors in the late fall, winter and early spring, before giving them summer vacations outside if living arrangements permit it.\u00a0 Indoors, the plants need bright, south-facing windowsills, if possible, or the brightest available windowsill if windowsill space is limited.\u00a0 Do not position them near heat sources and do provide regular moisture, as dryness is anathema to abutilons.\u00a0 The plants may flower in winter, especially if they are modern hybrids, but growth and flowering generally slows down during the colder, darker months.\u00a0 This may be a relief, as we humans tend to slow down at the same time.<\/p>\n

When and if the plants move outdoors, they should be given light shade at first and then moved to sunnier locations.\u00a0 The containers can fill holes in beds and borders, something the Victorians did all the time, but will also look good dropped into window boxes or positioned on porches or patios.\u00a0 Feed with houseplant fertilizer, diluted and administered according to manufacturer\u2019s directions.<\/p>\n

As I recall, I last killed an abutilon nine years ago.\u00a0 I have learned a few things since then, so I have ordered another, which should arrive just about the time when the last of my amaryllis plants have finished blooming.\u00a0 It is the peachy \u2018Blushing Moonlight\u2019, a Sage Reynolds hybrid.\u00a0 It will arrive in a 2.5-inch pot, so immediate flowering is impossible.\u00a0 Still, with the waning of the amaryllis, I will be motivated to do everything necessary to get my new plant going for its first flush of bloom next summer.<\/p>\n

In winter you can either sink into Seasonal Affective Disorder or spend your time looking forward to the new growing season.\u00a0 I choose to do the latter.<\/p>\n

If the Victorian that lurks inside you wants its own parlor maple, try Logee\u2019s, 141 North Street, Danielson, CT 06239, (860) 774-8038<\/a>, www.logees.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Print catalog available.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have had a crush on abutilon or \u201cparlor maple\u201d plants for the longest time.\u00a0 It might be because I love their hollyhock-like flowers.\u00a0 Or perhaps it is because I live in a Victorian house and the room that I refer to as the\u201d living room\u201d would once have been called \u201cthe parlor\u201d.\u00a0 It stands … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2,3,1,5],"tags":[965,2822,1928,964,492,282,2823,963,1774],"class_list":["post-3878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-summer","category-uncategorized","category-winter","tag-abutilon","tag-chinese-lantern","tag-flowering-houseplants","tag-flowering-maple","tag-houseplants","tag-indoor-plants","tag-mallow-family-indian-maple","tag-parlor-maple","tag-victorian-plants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3878"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3880,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3878\/revisions\/3880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}