Food-Gardening Lessons From A Wartime Victory Garden

What Time of Year Do You Prune Abutilon?

“What time of year do you prune an Abutilon?” Question from Angie of Fort Bragg, California

Answer: Parlor maples or Indian mallows (Abutilon hybrids) are tropical to subtropical plants that can be pruned to shape at any time. Cultivated forms do, however, bloom on new wood, so late-winter or spring pruning is recommended. Especially if you plan to trim your plant just once a year. These shrubs can be cut back quite a bit and rebound beautifully. Another option is to carefully thin overgrown stems back to main or central branches or remove smaller tip branches. It depends on how large you want your shrub to grow. Shearing is not advisable.

Dead, diseased, or winter-damaged stems should always be cut off.

Happy Abutilon growing!

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

About JESSIE KEITH

Plants are the lens Jessie views the world through because they’re all-sustaining. (“They feed, clothe, house and heal us. They produce the air we breathe and even make us smell pretty.”) She’s a garden writer and photographer with degrees in both horticulture and plant biology from Purdue and Michigan State Universities. Her degrees were bolstered by internships at Longwood Gardens and the American Horticultural Society. She has since worked for many horticultural institutions and companies and now manages communications for Sun Gro Horticulture, the parent company of Black Gold. Her joy is sharing all things green and lovely with her two daughters.

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