Characteristics
| Hardiness zone | 10a |
|---|---|
| Flower color | tomato |
| Foliage type | evergreen |
| Plant form | round |
| Mature height | 6 feet |
| Spread | 6 feet |
| Light requirements | full sun to partial shade |
| Moisture requirements | average to moist |
| Plant origin | hybrid |
‘Bella Red’ Abutilon
Botanical name: Abutilon ‘Bella Red’
This indoor or outdoor variety produces stunning, tomato-red flowers with orange centers; lantern-like buds open to pendulous bell-to-cup blooms year round; green maple-like leaves are often variegated with yellow and white; attracts hummingbirds.
Other names: Chinese Bellflower, Indian Mallow, Parlor Maple
Ornamental Features
'Bella Red' Abutilon features bold tomato-orange bell-shaped flowers with orange eyes along the branches from early spring to late winter. It has attractive yellow-variegated green foliage with hints of white. The lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental and remain green throughout the winter. The fruit is not ornamentally significant.
Landscape Attributes
'Bella Red' Abutilon is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a more or less rounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.
This shrub 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. It has no significant negative characteristics.
'Bella Red' Abutilon is recommended for the following landscape applications;
Accent, Mass Planting, Hedges/Screening, General Garden Use, Container Planting
Planting and Growing
'Bella Red' Abutilon will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. It has a low canopy, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.
This shrub 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 type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.
'Bella Red' Abutilon makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. 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 grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
