Fertilising guide
How to fertilise Flowering maple (Abutilon × hybridum)— schedule & NPK
Also called flowering maple, parlour maple, Chinese lantern, Indian mallow, Abutilon.
More about flowering maple
About Flowering maple
Abutilon × hybridum · also called flowering maple, parlour maple · flowering
Flowering maple is a fast-growing evergreen mallow-family shrub grown for pendent, bell-shaped blooms in white, red, yellow, orange and coral above maple-like leaves. It wants bright direct light, evenly moist rich soil and cool indoor temperatures. The genus is not on the ASPCA list, so treat as mildly toxic and check with your vet.
Growth habit: Upright, branching evergreen shrub with brittle stems; grows quickly and turns leggy without regular pinching
Watch for — Yellowing lower leaves: Typically overwatering and soggy roots, or a nutrient shortfall during the growing season.
What fertiliser flowering maple actually wants — and why
Flowering maple flowers best on poor soil — feed it and you get a lush leafy plant with very few blooms, the exact opposite of what you want.
Little or nothing. Rich, especially nitrogen-rich, soil pushes foliage at the expense of flowers in this plant — lean ground is the technique, not a deficiency.
For the language behind the three numbers on the bottle — what nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium each do — see the NPK ratio explained entry. The short version for flowering maple: match the feed to the job the plant is doing right now, not to a generic “plant food” on the shelf.
How often to feed flowering maple, and which months
Feeding only earns its keep while the plant is in active growth and can use the nutrients — pour feed into a dormant or low-light plant and it simply builds up as root-burning salt. For flowering maple:
Feed regularly through the growing season — a balanced liquid fertiliser at half strength every two weeks from late winter when growth resumes until autumn. Stop feeding in late autumn and winter while growth slows. Heavy bloomers are hungry, but over-feeding pushes soft leafy growth at the expense of flowers. In practice: no routine feeding at all for flowering maple — at most a thin compost mulch for soil structure, never a flowering or nitrogen feed.
The dormant-season rule matters more than the exact interval: skip feeding entirely when flowering maple is resting. For the wider context on indoor feeding rhythms across the seasons, the houseplant fertiliser schedule walks through the year month by month.
What strength to mix for flowering maple
None is the correct answer for flowering maple. The flower-versus-foliage trade-off is the whole point: hold back and you get the display.
Feeding always goes onto already-damp soil, never dry roots — water flowering maple first if the soil is dry, then apply the diluted feed. The companion question is when to water at all, covered in the flowering maple watering schedule.
Signs you are over-feeding flowering maple
Over-feeding is far more common — and more damaging — than under-feeding for most plants. The classic tells for flowering maple:
- Abundant leafy growth and very few flowers (the classic over-rich symptom).
- Soft, floppy stems and a sprawling, leafy habit.
- Scorched edges and salt crust if it has been fed in a container.
Signs you are under-feeding flowering maple
- Effectively never an issue — these plants flower on poverty.
- Only on genuinely dead soil: weak, thin growth and few blooms.
- A short-lived plant in completely spent container compost.
If the symptoms point at watering, light or roots rather than nutrition, the full flowering maple care brief covers soil, humidity and the common problems for this species.
Flushing and leaching the salts
If flowering maple has accidentally been fed and is all leaf, a plain-water flush plus a move to leaner soil resets it; otherwise no flushing is needed because you are not feeding it.
Organic vs synthetic feeds for flowering maple
Organic options
A thin compost mulch for soil structure is the absolute most; mostly, give it nothing. UK/US: leave it lean — no manure, no liquid feed. Poor soil is the active ingredient here.
Synthetic / liquid feeds
None. Synthetic feeds, particularly anything with appreciable nitrogen, directly suppress flowering in flowering maple.
Brand names are examples, not endorsements, and UK and US ranges differ — check the label’s own NPK and dilution rate, since formulations change.
Fertilising flowering maple — frequently asked questions
What fertiliser does flowering maple need?
Little or nothing. Rich, especially nitrogen-rich, soil pushes foliage at the expense of flowers in this plant — lean ground is the technique, not a deficiency. Flowering maple flowers best on poor soil — feed it and you get a lush leafy plant with very few blooms, the exact opposite of what you want.
How often should I feed flowering maple?
Feed regularly through the growing season — a balanced liquid fertiliser at half strength every two weeks from late winter when growth resumes until autumn. Stop feeding in late autumn and winter while growth slows. Heavy bloomers are hungry, but over-feeding pushes soft leafy growth at the expense of flowers. Feed regularly through the growing season — a balanced liquid fertiliser at half strength every two weeks from late winter when growth resumes until autumn. Stop feeding in late autumn and winter while growth slows. Heavy bloomers are hungry, but over-feeding pushes soft leafy growth at the expense of flowers. In practice: no routine feeding at all for flowering maple — at most a thin compost mulch for soil structure, never a flowering or nitrogen feed.
What strength of feed for flowering maple?
None is the correct answer for flowering maple. The flower-versus-foliage trade-off is the whole point: hold back and you get the display.
What does over-feeding flowering maple look like?
Abundant leafy growth and very few flowers (the classic over-rich symptom). Soft, floppy stems and a sprawling, leafy habit. Scorched edges and salt crust if it has been fed in a container. Feeding flowering maple at all — especially "to help it flower" — is the defining mistake. Rich soil gives you a big green plant and almost no blooms; restraint is what produces the flowers.
Should I flush the soil of flowering maple?
If flowering maple has accidentally been fed and is all leaf, a plain-water flush plus a move to leaner soil resets it; otherwise no flushing is needed because you are not feeding it.
Keep reading
- Flowering maple care — the full brief (light, soil, humidity, problems, pet safety)
- How often to water flowering maple — the watering schedule
- The houseplant fertiliser schedule — feeding through the year
- NPK ratio explained — what the three numbers on the bottle mean
- How to fertilise peace lily
- How to fertilise bird of paradise
- How to fertilise hoya
- All 609 fertilising guides in the Growli library