Abutilon megapictum

[Andrew Smith]

Anybody growing Abutilon Megapictum?

Got any photos?

How hardy is it?

Does it prefer sun or shade?

[Dave Brown]

I got one this year, and was going to grow it against my south facing kitchen wall, but I think it was too hot for it there as it wilted like crazy every sunny day. In dappled shade now at the bottom of the garden

Dpn't have a pic yet, will take one and post it

[shed]

Is this the same as abutilon megapotamicum? If so just moved mine today, i'd recommend it. The growth is really lax mind, with small leaves. Previously I had it in a SW position and it flowered its socks off. In London its been semi-evergreen through winter and suffered some but not terminal damage at -5 or so. I've never taken a dedicated photo - taken it for granted really.

[Adrian]

Ive grown Abutilon megapotamicum for more than 15 years and its hardy here, same experience as Sheds, on the whole evergreen and like Shed, I moved mine early this year.
Again no photos. Probably the nicest of the Abutilons IMO.

Im not sure if megapictum is different though.

[DiCasS]

Unfortunately I lost mine this Winter, it looked okay up till about March and thought it was going to come through okay, but then died, so not hardy here. Shame as it was a lovely plant and flowered over a long period.

Di

[PeterS]

I too lost my A. megapotamicum sadly this year. It survived the last couple of years with a low each year of -8C. But this year it hit -10C and was colder for longer. Still it had a good run - most sources don't say it will take -8C.

[Madahlia]

I have one against the SW wall of the house and it's fine after the winter. This spot is very shady in summer as it's now under my vine-covered pergola but it seems to cope. Has to. Not sure if it flowered much last year, though.

[marie06]

Bought one at the Place for Plants a couple of weeks ago, and planted it against a south facing wall this weekend, but for part of the day it will be shaded by other plants. I really hope this one pulls through winter, a lovely plant.

[Dave Brown]

I have a Abutilon megapotanicur from Hill House Nursery. It is so lax, that without support it would just run along the ground If these are hardy-ish and flower for many months it is going to be good

[Adrian]

Thats A. megapotimicum.

[DaveP]

One of the finest specimens of Abutilon megapotamicum that I ever saw was growing against a wall at the Dower House on the Boughton House Estate in Northants. At the time, Valerie Finnis and her husband David Scott lived there; David was a cousin of the Duke of Buccleuch who owns Boughton and Valerie was an RHS award winning photographer. Both were avid gardeners and well respected in the echelons of the RHS. The Abutilon scaled right up to the eaves, some 20 or so feet high and each summer, would drip with maroon red and yellow 'lanterns'. The garden was a 'cold' garden, but careful siting allowed semi-tender shrubs and plants to thrive. That was in the early '70s well before we were feeling any of the effects of 'global warming'.

I took cuttings and grew the subsequent plants against the walls of houses in Stourbridge and later Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. The latter became a 'stock plant' from which I raised new plants to sell on my nursery. Wishful thinking on my part at the time (I was a mere mid twenty year old stripling!), I hoped it might be a 'hardy' clone, but later discovered it was no more or less hardy than any other megapotamicum. It's one of the tougher species and should survive in many parts of the UK especially if given the support of a south or west facing wall.

[DiCasS]

Dave, is that the size plant you get when ordering basic front page price?

Di

[Dave Brown]

Thanks for the info Dave. It sound like a tough little exotic, well, maybe not so little from what you say.

I presume they had to tie it in to get up to the eaves

I think I'm going to ditch my Black Homburg grape and put this is it's place. It is on the south side of a shelter fence on my deck area, which is designed to have shelter from any northery or easterly aspect winds. That area is a good 3 to 5C warmer than the exposed weather station sensor. This will be a far more interesting feature to look from the table at as evergreen and colourful.