Abutilon ‘Tiger Eye’ Live Plant – 1 Gallon Pot – 1 Foot Tall – Outdoor Shrub

Overview

Introduce a touch of exotic beauty to your garden with the captivating Abutilon ‘Tiger Eye’ live plant. Often referred to as Flowering Maple due to its maple-like leaves, this plant is not a true maple but a member of the mallow family. The ‘Tiger Eye’ cultivar is particularly prized for its distinctive, pendulous, bell-shaped flowers that display a vibrant orange hue intricately veined with deep red, creating a mesmerizing “tiger eye” effect. This flowering maple plant brings continuous visual interest from spring through fall, making it a spectacular addition to any outdoor space. Its attractive foliage and striking blooms ensure it stands out, offering a tropical feel even in temperate climates.

The Abutilon ‘Tiger Eye’ live plant is a vigorous grower, known for its abundant and long-lasting blossoms. It’s an excellent choice for adding vertical interest to garden beds, borders, or as a stunning focal point in containers on patios and decks. Its unique appearance makes it a conversation starter, drawing attention from both garden enthusiasts and casual observers. This outdoor flowering shrub is relatively easy to care for, making it suitable for gardeners of various experience levels who wish to cultivate something truly special.

Key Benefits

The Abutilon ‘Tiger Eye’ live plant offers a multitude of benefits, making it a highly desirable addition to any garden or patio. Its unique characteristics provide continuous enjoyment and enhance the aesthetic appeal of your outdoor living spaces:

• Stunning Visual Appeal: The primary draw of the ‘Tiger Eye’ is its extraordinary flowers. The vibrant orange with deep red veins creates a captivating pattern, ensuring your garden remains a focal point throughout the growing season. Each bloom is a miniature work of art.
• Prolific Bloomer: Unlike many plants that bloom for only a short period, Abutilon ‘Tiger Eye’ is known for its extended flowering season, typically from spring until the first frost. This provides consistent color and beauty to your landscape for months on end.
• Attracts Pollinators: The nectar-rich flowers are a magnet for hummingbirds and other beneficial pollinators, bringing life and movement to your garden. This contributes to a healthier ecosystem and supports local wildlife.
• Versatile Landscaping Plant: This plant can be grown as a standalone specimen, integrated into mixed borders, or used as a striking container plant. Its adaptable nature allows it to fit into various garden designs and settings, making it a truly versatile exotic garden plant.
• Relatively Low Maintenance: Once established, the Abutilon ‘Tiger Eye’ live plant is fairly easy to care for, requiring regular watering and occasional feeding to maintain its vigor and bloom production. It’s a rewarding plant that doesn’t demand constant attention.
• Unique Foliage: Beyond its flowers, the maple-like leaves add textural interest to the plant even when not in bloom. The lush green foliage provides a beautiful backdrop for the vivid orange blossoms.
• Adds Tropical Flair: For those in cooler climates, the ‘Tiger Eye’ Abutilon offers a wonderful way to infuse a tropical or exotic feel into your garden, creating a mini-paradise right at home.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Proper Abutilon care is essential for ensuring your ‘Tiger Eye’ plant thrives and produces its spectacular blooms. This plant generally prefers a warm, sunny location but can tolerate some partial shade, especially in hotter climates where afternoon sun can be intense. Aim for at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day for optimal flowering. If growing in a container, consider placing it where it receives morning sun and some afternoon shade to protect it from scorching. In regions with mild winters, it can be grown directly in the ground, but in colder zones, it’s best treated as an annual or brought indoors before frost.

Watering is crucial for the Abutilon ‘Tiger Eye’ live plant. It prefers consistently moist, but not waterlogged, soil. Check the soil moisture regularly, especially during hot, dry periods, and water thoroughly when the top inch of soil feels dry to the touch. Ensure good drainage to prevent root rot. For soil, a rich, well-draining potting mix is ideal for container plants, while garden beds should be amended with organic matter to improve fertility and drainage. The plant benefits from regular feeding with a balanced liquid fertilizer every 2-4 weeks during the growing season to support its continuous flowering.

Pruning helps maintain the plant’s shape, encourages bushier growth, and promotes more blooms. Light pruning can be done throughout the growing season to remove spent flowers and any leggy stems. A more substantial prune can be performed in late winter or early spring before new growth begins, cutting back by up to one-third to rejuvenate the plant. Protect your flowering maple plant from strong winds, which can damage its stems and leaves. While generally robust, keep an eye out for common pests like aphids or whiteflies and treat them promptly with organic pest control methods if necessary.

Size & Details

This Abutilon ‘Tiger Eye’ live plant is shipped as a healthy, actively growing specimen, approximately 1 foot tall from the base of the plant to the top of its foliage. It arrives in a 1 gallon nursery pot, providing a well-established root system ready for transplanting into a larger container or directly into your garden bed. The plant exhibits a moderate to fast growth rate, quickly filling out to become a substantial outdoor flowering shrub. Mature size can reach 4-8 feet in height and 3-5 feet in width, depending on growing conditions and pruning. Expect this plant to begin producing its distinctive orange and red blooms shortly after settling into its new environment, offering continuous color throughout the warmer months. The plant’s robust nature ensures it will establish quickly and become a vibrant part of your landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this Abutilon ‘Tiger Eye’ live plant get? A: This plant is shipped at approximately 1 foot tall and can grow to a mature height of 4-8 feet and a width of 3-5 feet, depending on your climate and how you prune it.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: The Abutilon ‘Tiger Eye’ live plant is primarily an outdoor flowering shrub. In USDA Zones 9-11, it can be grown year-round outdoors. In colder zones, it’s often grown as an annual or overwintered indoors.
• Q: How much sunlight does the flowering maple plant need? A: For best flowering, it requires at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily. In very hot climates, some afternoon shade can be beneficial to prevent leaf scorch.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, the Abutilon ‘Tiger Eye’ is considered relatively easy to care for. It needs consistent watering, well-draining soil, and regular feeding during its growing season.
• Q: What condition will the Abutilon ‘Tiger Eye’ live plant arrive in? A: Your plant will arrive healthy and actively growing, securely packaged in a 1 gallon nursery pot, ready for planting. We take great care to ensure its safe journey.
• Q: When is the best time to plant this outdoor flowering shrub? A: The best time to plant is in spring after the last danger of frost has passed, allowing it ample time to establish before the peak growing season.
• Q: What type of soil does this exotic garden plant prefer? A: It thrives in rich, well-draining soil. For container planting, a high-quality potting mix is recommended. In garden beds, amend heavy soils with compost to improve drainage and fertility.
• Q: Will the Abutilon ‘Tiger Eye’ attract hummingbirds? A: Yes, the vibrant, bell-shaped flowers of the Abutilon ‘Tiger Eye’ live plant are very attractive to hummingbirds, making it a wonderful addition for wildlife enthusiasts.
• Q: How often should I fertilize my Abutilon? A: During the active growing and flowering season (spring through fall), fertilize with a balanced liquid fertilizer every 2-4 weeks to encourage continuous blooms.
• Q: Can I prune the Abutilon ‘Tiger Eye’ to keep it smaller? A: Absolutely. Regular pruning helps maintain a desired size and shape, encourages bushier growth, and promotes more flowers. You can prune lightly throughout the season and perform a more significant trim in late winter or early spring.