Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Painted Flowering Maple (Abutilon pictum)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Painted Flowering Maple, Redvein Abutilon, Red Vein Indian Mallow, Redvein Flowering Maple.

More about painted flowering maple

About Painted Flowering Maple

Abutilon pictum · also called Painted Flowering Maple, Redvein Abutilon · flowering

Abutilon pictum is a fast-growing evergreen shrub native to Brazil and Argentina, grown widely for its pendulous bell-shaped orange-yellow flowers with prominent deep red veins and its attractive maple-like lobed leaves. The most commonly grown form, 'Thompsonii', features striking yellow-mottled variegated foliage caused by Abutilon mosaic virus. It thrives in a bright, sheltered position and flowers almost year-round in warm conditions; the key care requirement is a minimum winter temperature above 5°C, making it a conservatory or houseplant in most of the UK. Abutilon is not listed on the ASPCA toxic plants database and is not considered toxic to cats or dogs, though mild gastrointestinal upset may occur if large quantities are consumed.

Cold limit: USDA 8-11 · RHS H2 (5–25°C (prefers 10–21°C in growth))

What painted flowering maple's hardiness rating actually means

Painted Flowering Maple is half-hardy (RHS H2). It survives a mild winter outdoors in a sheltered spot, but a hard frost kills it — so in colder zones it is lifted, potted, or grown as a tender plant. Its RHS rating of H2 means: Tender — survives a frost-free greenhouse or a very mild, sheltered spot. On the US scale that maps to USDA 8-11 — the zones where it can be left outdoors year-round.

New to these scales? The USDA hardiness zone map explained covers how the zone numbers work, and you can find your own zone with the zone finder.

Minimum temperature — and what happens below it

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about 1 to 5 °C — tolerates cold but no real frost. Painted Flowering Maple shrugs off cold nights but a real, sustained freeze will kill it.

Concretely, for painted flowering maple as it gets too cold:

Down to roughly about 1 to 5 °C it copes, especially if dry and sheltered.
A sustained hard frost collapses the top growth; whether it returns depends on whether the roots, crown or tubers froze.
Wet cold is far more lethal than dry cold for this plant — soggy, frozen soil is the usual killer.

Can painted flowering maple go outside or overwinter — and where?

It can live outside year-round only in the mildest, most sheltered part of USDA 8-11 or a frost-free UK microclimate.
In colder zones, grow it in a pot you can move under cover, or lift its tubers/roots and store them frost-free over winter.
A south-facing wall, free-draining soil and a dry winter position can push it a full zone hardier than the books suggest.

Work back from your local frost dates with the frost-date calculator: the last spring frost and first autumn frost are what really decide when painted flowering maple can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H2 figure above.

Frost protection for borderline painted flowering maple

Painted Flowering Maple is right on a hardiness edge in many gardens, so if you are pushing it, these measures buy it the margin it needs:

Mulch the crown or root zone deeply with bark, straw or leaf-mould before the first hard frost.
Move container plants against a warm wall or into an unheated but frost-free porch or greenhouse.
Fleece the top growth on the coldest nights, and keep it on the dry side — dry roots survive cold far better than wet ones.
Lift dahlia-type tubers or tender crowns after the first light frost blackens the foliage and store them somewhere cool but frost-free.

Painted Flowering Maple hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is painted flowering maple cold hardy?

Painted Flowering Maple is half-hardy (RHS H2). It survives a mild winter outdoors in a sheltered spot, but a hard frost kills it — so in colder zones it is lifted, potted, or grown as a tender plant. Borderline outdoors. In its mild end of USDA 8-11 (and sheltered UK gardens) painted flowering maple can stay out; in colder areas it must be lifted, brought in, or treated as a frost-tender plant.

What is the minimum temperature painted flowering maple can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about 1 to 5 °C — tolerates cold but no real frost. Painted Flowering Maple shrugs off cold nights but a real, sustained freeze will kill it.

What hardiness zone is painted flowering maple?

Painted Flowering Maple is rated USDA 8-11 and RHS H2 — Tender — survives a frost-free greenhouse or a very mild, sheltered spot.

Can painted flowering maple survive winter outside?

It can live outside year-round only in the mildest, most sheltered part of USDA 8-11 or a frost-free UK microclimate. In colder zones, grow it in a pot you can move under cover, or lift its tubers/roots and store them frost-free over winter. A south-facing wall, free-draining soil and a dry winter position can push it a full zone hardier than the books suggest.

How do I protect painted flowering maple from frost?

Mulch the crown or root zone deeply with bark, straw or leaf-mould before the first hard frost. Move container plants against a warm wall or into an unheated but frost-free porch or greenhouse. Fleece the top growth on the coldest nights, and keep it on the dry side — dry roots survive cold far better than wet ones. Lift dahlia-type tubers or tender crowns after the first light frost blackens the foliage and store them somewhere cool but frost-free.