Associate Abutilon

To create an exotic atmosphere

Abutilon, which offers bicoloured yellow and red flowers, like Abutilon megapotamicum, or cup-shaped red flowers, such as Abutilon ‘Nabob’, is a bush suitable for creating an exotic atmosphere. This is thanks to its long and generous flowering, as well as its evergreen foliage. In a garden, pair it with lush plants and bushes, such as red cannas, Hibiscus moscheutos ‘Planet Griotte’ in red, and Sikkim bananas or Musa sikkimensis ‘Red Tiger’. Add at the base fuchsias or Petunia surfinia ‘Double Red’ also in red tones to achieve a lush and exotic atmosphere, from bottom to top.

Petunia ‘Double Red’, Musa sikkimensis, Abutilon nabob, and Hibiscus moscheutos Planet Griotte ‘Tangri’

For an original flowerbed, between lanterns and flames

If you love originality, Abutilon megapotamicum, with its red and yellow flowers resembling small Chinese lanterns, should appeal to you. It offers, from June to October, eye-catching bicoloured flowers. Each flower consists of a bright red calyx, from which emerge 5 yellow petals revealing long purple-tinged stamens. The green leaves evoke the shape of a heart. To enhance its originality, you can pair it in a border with other plants of similar shapes, such as lovely bleeding hearts in white or bicoloured white and red. Also consider Gloriosa rotschildiana, a climbing lily producing flame-shaped red and yellow flowers from June to August. You can also try pairing it with a Hamamelis intermedia ‘Diane’, with orange flowers shaped like narrow flames, which will bloom in winter.

Gloriosa rotschildiana, Abutilon megapotamicum, Dicentra spectabilis ‘Valentine’ and Hamamelis intermedia ‘Diane’

In a bed of white and blue flowers

Abutilon vitifolium is a bush with blue flowers that appear in June and July. It can reach a height of 2.5 metres and has dark green foliage resembling that of vines. The flowers bloom in large cups of beautiful Chinese blue. In the garden, try pairing it with other blue and white summer flowers to create a harmonious bed. Combine it for example with purple or white wisterias (Wisteria frutescens ‘Amethyst Falls’ or Wisteria venusta for instance), which produce large clusters of pendulous, fragrant flowers between April and June. At the base, plant euphorbias with graphic silhouettes and add colour with camassias (Camassia cusickii ‘Zwanenburg’,Camassia leichtlinii ‘Alba’) which produce large spikes of star-shaped white or blue flowers in May and June, as well as delphiniums (for example ‘Pacific Blue Bird’ or Delphinium elatum ‘Double Innocence’) in white or blue with summer and autumn flowering.

Abutilon vitifolium (photo Peganum), Camassia leichtlinii ‘Alba’, Delphinium ‘Magic Fountain’ and Wisteria ‘Amethyst Falls’

In a pot

Abutilon megapotamicum is well-suited for pot cultivation and can be trained as a climbing plant if you support it. Against a wall or along a facade on a terrace, pair it with other climbing plants also grown in pots. Plant the Abutilon megapotamicum with its red and yellow flowers next to white or red clematis, such as the Clematis Niobe for example. You can also combine it with a Solanum jasminoides ‘Album’, to highlight its vivid colours. If you love blue, try pairing it with a Sollya heterophylla, a small liana that produces small light blue flowers resembling campanulas from June to September.

You can also combine it with Virginia creepers or Black-eyed Susan. At the base of the pots, install plants with variegated foliage, such as Euphorbia polychroma ‘Variegata’, or with silver foliage like sea cineraria.

Abutilon megapotamicum, Solanum jasminoides, Clematis ‘Niobe’ (photo Wikipedia) and Euphorbia polychroma ‘Variegata’ (photo Guido)

In a flowering hedge with soft colours

Another beautiful floral display, you can imagine a flowering hedge with abutilon ‘Suntense’ with mauve flowers. This bush can reach 3 metres in height and offers a spectacular flowering in May and June. Its cup-shaped flowers, mauve to light violet, reveal a heart of dark yellow stamens and bloom against a grey-green foliage that turns dark green. Plant the abutilon ‘Suntense’ next to an Abelia grandiflora with pink and mauve flowers, a Hibiscus syriacus ‘Oiseau Bleu’ with blue flowers and a dark red heart, and a Hibiscus syriacus ‘Blue Chiffon’ with lavender blue flowers.

Abutilon suntense (photo Leonara Enking – Flickr), Abelia grandiflora and Hibiscus syriacus ‘Blue Chiffon’

For further reading

• To learn everything about growing abutilon, check out our comprehensive guide dedicated to this lovely plant.
• To avoid any failures, we recommend planting appropriately; feel free to adopt our Plantfit web application!