Abutilon 'Bella' Hybrid - To re-pot or not?

Greetings growers,

I have grown 2 of these stunners from seed and they are now over a year old and well over due a re-pot. The problem I have is they have been flowering non stop since last March and show no signs of stopping yet!. My question is do they ever stop flowering!?! and if not has anybody re-potted these during flowering and lost them as a result as I would rather keep them pot bound than loose them altogether.

No body I know has ever heard of (let alone grown) these plants so though it best to consult a wider audience. Any advice would be most appreciated.

Many Thanks
Bren.

Re: Abutilon 'Bella' Hybrid - To re-pot or not?

Reply from Kathy C

Hi, Brendan,
The Bella Series, if grown indoors (like yours) has been bred to bloom all year long. So, I completely understand the dilemma when ready to repot. I would suspect that even though still flowering, there is a slow down in flowering and vegetative growth during the normal dormant period for most plants - late autumn and winter. Best time I would think would be late autumn. Having said that, if they are pot-bound and you suspect this could be begin to cause the plant to decline, do it right away.
Kathy C

Re: Re: Abutilon 'Bella' Hybrid - To re-pot or not?

Reply from Brendan

Thank you so much for this Kathy,
I had suspected they were in it for the long haul!!. I will wait till the current cluster of flowers fade and then I will whip them into some bigger pots, maybe that might even slow them down a bit. One other question if you don't mind!?!. What do you feed yours as I think they should be more compact than they are?. Things look a bit stretchy in my opinion and they certainly get plenty of light and I grow other plants (Adeniums) that stretch with too much Nitorgen so if you've had any experience with that it would be nice to hear. From what you say it sounds like they can go outside too so I will also try them outdoors once the temp gets up. Could do with the room....for more plants!

Thanks again for your advice, I will put a picture up once they are sorted out!

Re: Re: Re: Abutilon 'Bella' Hybrid - To re-pot or not?

Reply from Kathy C

Hi, Brendan,
When you say plenty of light - what is the source? If they are in the house, and not under glass in a heated glasshouse or conservatory, I believe the stretching is due to needing more light. Also, how often do you feed them?
Kathy C

Re: Re: Re: Re: Abutilon 'Bella' Hybrid - To re-pot or not?

Reply from Brendan

Hi Kathy,
They are currently in a west facing lean too that is heated and when its out the sun hits about 11:30 and stays till dusk. You could be right though, I have thought before now that because I'm in gloomy Manchester that I get poor quality light at times that some plants notice more than others, my Tecoma's seemed to be doing a similar thing last year. Maybe its just a battle I'll never win!. They seem very hungry these days and I'm feeding them every other watering at the moment, if I don't they start to use the the leaves like mad which go yellow and drop off. I think!?! I do leach them too every so often, about once a month or so and I only use rain water to water them with.
Many Thanks
Bren

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Abutilon 'Bella' Hybrid - To re-pot or not?

Reply from Kathy C

Hi, Brendan,
Yes, even though they get that much light, the light levels in Manchester, particularly in winter, are still on the low side for many conservatory/sun-loving plants. The need to feed so much is a sure sign that they need potting up.
Kathy C