Flowering maple
Abutilon × hybridum
Also called Parlour maple and Abutilon
Houseplant · FloweringNothing to do with maples but the leaf. It flowers from spring to the first frost if you keep pinching the tips out, and it goes bare and sulky the moment the light drops — a conservatory plant more than a room one.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Medium
- Water
- Every 5 daysDrench and drain — water the whole surface until it runs from the holes.
- Light
- Bright, with a few hours of direct sun
- Feed
- Every 21 days
- Humidity
- Average
- Hardiness
- Tender — no frost at all RHS H2, to 1°C
- Size
- 1.5 m tall · 1 m across
- Lifecycle
- Shrub
- Origin
- A garden hybrid of South American species
Is it safe for pets and people?
PetsNothing recorded against it
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
PeopleNot checked yet
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-08-05. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- Long bare stems with a tuft of leaves and a flower on the end. It needs the tips pinched out from spring, and hard pruning in February.Legginess · disorder
- Tiny white moths lift off in a cloud when you brush the plant, and the leaves go sticky underneath. This plant is their favourite in a warm room.Glasshouse whitefly · pest