With its tropical flowers, the beautiful mallow (Abutilon) conjures up a paradisiacal ambience on the summer balcony. The exotic beauty with its colorful cup and bell flowers is a welcome guest on the creative windowsill. Behind the capricious appearance lies an easy-care and long-lasting potted plant. Frequently asked questions about the cultivation of a velvet poplar receive a precise answer here.
How do I properly care for a beautiful mallow?
The beautiful mallow is an easy-care, long-lasting potted plant that brings tropical flowers to the balcony and windowsill. What is important is even watering, regular fertilization, removing dead flowers, pruning in spring and a suitable winter quarters.
Planting mallow correctly
Since the non-hardy mallow only exudes its tropical charm for one season when planted in the bed, the majority of hobby gardeners favor pot culture. This is how you plant the velvet poplar correctly:
- Create a drainage over the water drain using potsherds or pebbles
- To protect against siltation, spread an air- and water-permeable fleece over it
- Pour in a first layer of potted plant soil to make a depression in it with your fist
- Unpot the young plant, place it in the middle of the hollow and fill the cavities with substrate
Do not place the plant any deeper than before and press the soil with a pricking stick or spoon so that no air pockets form. A watering edge of 2-3 cm ensures that water does not spill over later. After you have watered the beautiful mallow, it stays in the partially shaded location for the first 1-2 weeks to recover from the stress.
Care tips
The care program for a beautiful mallow comes with these few points:
- Water the tropical subshrub evenly with soft rainwater
- Fertilize liquidly every 14 days from March to September
- Clean up wilted and faded things as soon as possible
- Prune in early spring by a third or half
- Water less and don’t fertilize
If the velvet poplar stayed in the open air throughout the summer, it moves to its winter quarters when the temperatures fall. It should be bright and cool there, at an ideal 12-15 degrees Celsius. Alternatively, the blossom festival continues on the sunny windowsill at 18 to 22 degrees Celsius.read more
Which location is suitable?
The beautiful mallow feels right at home in a bright to sunny location. As long as it does not come under the influence of the blazing midday sun and remains protected from strong winds and pelting rain, nothing stands in the way of the long-lasting flower spectacle. The Brazilian beauty only stays on the summer balcony as long as the mercury column is above 12-15 degrees Celsius.
What soil does the plant need?
When choosing the substrate, choose high-quality potting soil. This consists of a carefully balanced composition that remains structurally stable and has excellent water storage capacity. If you like to mix it yourself, add 3 parts lava granules and 1 part quartz sand to 5 parts compost soil. Aim for a pH value between 6.0 and 6.8.
When is flowering time?
The wonderful beautiful mallow delights us as a houseplant with a long-lasting flowering period from April to November. On the balcony and terrace the flowering period extends from June to October. So that you don't lose your strength prematurely during this feat of strength, consistently clean out withered flowers. In this way, the velvet poplar does not invest its energy in growing seeds, but rather busily produces more flowers.
Cut mallow correctly
If you cut out withered flowers and yellowed leaves as soon as possible, the beautiful mallow will retain its lush appearance. To prevent the tropical subshrub from falling into a sparse habit, shorten all shoots by a third or half at the end of winter dormancy. The velvet poplar can also tolerate cutting into old wood. In the first two years we recommend deadheading the plant several times a year. This measure promotes lush branching and attracts even more flowers.read more
Watering mallow
When it comes to water supply, the beautiful mallow requires consistency. Keep the root ball slightly moist without causing waterlogging or drought stress. The tropical flower beauty reacts angrily to both extremes by dropping flowers and leaves. Therefore, keep an eye on the pot saucer to pour out excess water after 10 minutes at the latest.
Fertilize mallow properly
The question of proper nutrient supply is quickly clarified for beautiful mallow. Pamper the floral beauty every 14 days from March to September with a liquid fertilizer for flowering plants (€9.00 at Amazon). No fertilizer is applied between October and February as the subshrub is in a dormant period of growth at this time.
Wintering
The beautiful mallow is not hardy. In order for the exotic subshrub to thrive for several years, this wintering is important:
- Put away in autumn when temperatures fall below 12-15 degrees Celsius
- The winter quarters are bright and cool, with temperatures not below 10 degrees and above 16 degrees Celsius
- Reduce watering and do not fertilize
If you want to continue to enjoy the beauty of the flowers, place the pot on the bright, warm windowsill at 18 to 22 degrees Celsius.read more
Propagate mallow
To grow more beautiful mallows, you can propagate them using cuttings. In early summer, cut off half-woody head shoots that are 8 to 12 cm long. A cutting is defoliated in the lower half to prevent rot from forming later. Fill small pots with a mix of peat and sand to place two-thirds of the cuttings in. After the substrate has been moistened, put a transparent cover over each pot. If kept constantly moist in a partially shaded, warm window seat, the rooting progresses quickly.read more
How do I transplant correctly?
If a beautiful mallow has completely rooted the pot, repot the plant in March. In the new bucket, spread a few pieces of pottery over the water drain as drainage and fill in a layer of the fresh substrate. Now pot up the velvet poplar to shake off the spent soil. On this occasion, dead roots are cut out and strands that are too long are shortened slightly. Place the freshly potted indoor maple in a partially shaded place for 2 to 3 weeks to regenerate.
Is mallow poisonous?
Sensitive hobby gardeners react to immediate contact with skin irritations, as the mallow is classified as slightly poisonous. Since there is currently a lack of concrete information regarding toxicity, we recommend cultivating the exotic plant out of the reach of children and pets. In addition, gloves prevent damage to he alth through skin contact.read more
Beautiful varieties
- Victorian Lady: Only double-flowering variety with ruffled delicate pink petals over extra large leaves
- Souvenir de Bonn: Fantastically beautiful with nodding, orange bell-shaped flowers and cream-yellow-edged foliage
- Kentish Bell: The yellow flowers are decorated with a dark heart; thanks to hanging shoots the ideal variety for hanging baskets
- Thompsonii: The green-yellow variegated foliage underlines the bright orange flowers
- Blackberry: A rarity among the mallows thanks to large bell-shaped flowers in dark purple
