Thank you to Dougeee@Flickr of Georgia, USA, for contributing today's photograph to BPotD (via the Flickr BPotD Group Pool | original). Much obliged!
This cultivar is a recent introduction from Tony Avent's Plant Delights Nursery. I have to link to the commercial site to give you more information, since other resources about this cultivar are sparse to non-existent. Abutilons are also commonly known as flowering maples, due to the resemblance of the leaf shape (of some species / hybrids) to the classic maple form.
Malvaceae.info has a photo gallery of both species and hybrids of Abutilon. The genus is native to tropical and subtropical areas of the world.
Interesting botany article in the New York Times: Plants Found to Show Preference for Their Relatives
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/10/science/10plant.html
Nice. I really like the Abutilons - and am a big fan of Plant Delights nursery. They have an excellent collection - and the catalog is a useful reference.
WOW. The quality of this photo is phenomenal from so many aspects: clarity of details, color vibrance, etc. LOVE IT!!
Beautiful photo. Is this variety available in Vancouver, B.C.? If so, where?
Thanks.
May I ask is this the same a what they call GOLDEN CUP in South Africa that blooms same time as the Jacaranda trees. I have some macro pics must find them . Lovely shot and stunning bloom.
Remarquable photo qui permet une excellente appréciation de tous les détails. Une précision sur le matériel utilisé aurait été le bienvenu. Merci
You're probably thinking of Solandra with the Golden Cup. Totally different family - Solanaceae.
Hmmmm, I'm not such a fan of PDN . . . bought once and never since. Their shipping cost to the West Coast doesn't help entice me to buy from them either.
Cistus Design Nursery (not far from my home) has an unbelievable selection of species and cultivars from this genera. They also have relatively steep shipping costs, but are well worth a visit if you live in the Pacific NW.
Anyhow, the photo at PDN is several shades darker and a bit more to the orange than the nice gold of the photo above. I wonder if it's due to different growing conditions or different photographic conditions?
I find Abutilon hardiness to be iffy in my climate (NW Oregon). I have many die over the winter, but they have reseeded themselves pretty well, so my little colony continues to survive. Perhaps they will self-select and gain a little hardiness over time. One species did overwinter for me quite well this year, however. I have two A. vitifolium specimens (different varieties) and both did very well and were blooming by late March and have been blooming continuously since.
I find them very easy to start from seed. In fact, one member of the genus is a well known weed to soy bean and maize farmers: Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti). The Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board has some interesting information on it:
http://www.nwcb.wa.gov/weed_info/Written_findings/Abutilon_theophrasti.html