PlantFiles: Indian Mallow
Abutilon x suntense

Abutilon x suntense. Abutilons are a large family of plants of over 150 species ranging from the almost frost hardy to the sub-tropical. A. x suntense is a cross between A. ochsenii and A. vitifolium, the later of which it closely resembles. Flowers, like A. vitifolium, are lavender and profuse. Leaves are dark green, coarsely toothed and smooth (unlike A. vitifolium which are hairy). A vigorous shrub to 10 feet, there is some doubt as to its hardiness. In my garden it grows under the protective canopy of a mature Sycamore tree here in European Zone 8. Only in the severest Winters have I lost it (or its close relative A. vitifolium).