The flowering maple isn't a maple. Never was. (Whoever named it had one job.) What you have is an Abutilon — a South American shrub that someone in the 1800s decided looked enough like a maple to borrow the name. The leaves are similar. The family tree is not.
I get calls every spring from Surrey homeowners who bought a flowering maple, planted it outdoors, and then watched it either thrive or quietly collapse over winter. The difference usually comes down to three things: where it went, how it was fed, and whether it came inside on time.
Quick answer:Treat your flowering maple like a tender tropical. Full to partial sun, consistent feeding, water when the top inch of soil is dry, and back inside before October. Prune in late winter. That's the short version.
It's not actually a maple
The flowering maple (Abutilon genus, commonly Abutilon x hybridum or Abutilon pictum) belongs to the Malvaceae family. That puts it alongside hibiscus and okra — not maples. The lobed leaves created the confusion, and the name stuck.
As a shrub, it grows anywhere from 1 to 3 metres tall. The flowers are the draw: bell-shaped or lantern-shaped blooms in red, orange, yellow, white, or pink, depending on the variety. They hang off the branches and open from late spring through fall. In warm climates, it blooms nearly year-round. In Surrey, you get May through October if you manage it well.
The USDA Plants Database lists several Abutilon species as naturalized in parts of North America, but in BC it's strictly a cultivated garden plant. You're not going to find it growing wild in the Fraser Valley.
Can it grow outdoors in Surrey BC?
Yes — seasonally. Surrey falls in USDA hardiness zone 8b. Abutilon handles light frost down to around -5°C, but a proper hard freeze will kill it to the ground or finish it entirely. Our Lower Mainland winters are mild but not reliably mild enough for most varieties.
Your outdoor window is roughly May through early October. Once overnight temperatures are consistently above 10°C, it can go outside. When the first frost warning arrives — typically late October in Surrey, though it varies — it comes back in.
Some homeowners get away with leaving established plants in the ground against a south-facing wall with good drainage. I've seen it work. I've also seen it fail after a particularly cold January. The rule of thumb: if you love the plant and don't want to replace it, bring it in.
Containers make this easier — the plant stays mobile and you can move it as conditions change. For garden bed plantings, a thick layer of mulch over the roots before frost gives it a fighting chance.
How to keep it blooming
Three things determine whether your flowering maple blooms or just sits there looking vaguely disappointed: light, water, and feed.
Light. As much as you can give it. Full sun in the morning with some afternoon shade suits Surrey summers — the afternoon heat can be hard on it in July and August. In lower light, Abutilon grows leaves but skips the flowers. (This is the most common problem I hear about. "Why is it not blooming?" Nine out of ten times, not enough sun.)
Water.Consistent moisture without waterlogging. Let the top 2–3 cm of soil dry between waterings. In a container outdoors in summer, that usually means every two to three days. A plant sitting in wet soil will develop root rot fast — the leaves will yellow and drop, and you'll think it's a disease when it's actually drainage.
Feed. This is where most people fall short. Abutilon is a heavy feeder. A balanced fertilizer — 20-20-20 or similar — every two weeks through the growing season. Skip it, and flowering slows down noticeably. The University of Maryland Extension recommends a high-phosphorus fertilizer (the middle number) to encourage blooming over leaf growth.
Pruning: when and how much
Prune in late winter or very early spring, before new growth begins. That's your main cut — the structural one that shapes the plant for the year. You can take it back by up to a third without any harm. A hard cut actually encourages denser, bushier growth, which means more flowering branches.
Cut just above a leaf node. The plant branches wherever you cut — that's what you want. If it's gotten leggy over winter (and they do), a proper cut back now will reset it by late spring.
Lighter maintenance pruning — pinching growing tips, removing spent flowers — can be done any time through the season. This keeps the plant tidy and redirects energy into new blooms rather than seed production.
One note on wound sealers: don't bother. The old advice to seal cuts with tar or paint is now discouraged by arboricultural practice guides. It traps moisture, slows the plant's natural sealing process, and doesn't prevent disease. Clean cuts heal best on their own. This applies to Abutilon just as much as it applies to the trees I work on.
If you have questions about pruning other plants and trees on your property, the general tree pruning guide covers timing and technique for most common BC species.
Common problems and honest fixes
Not blooming.Almost always light or fertilizer. Move it somewhere sunnier. Start feeding every two weeks. Give it four weeks and you'll see the difference.
Leaves dropping. Three main causes: sudden temperature change (putting it outdoors when nights are still cold, or bringing it in from a warm day to a cold room), overwatering and root rot, or spider mites. The first two are management problems. The third needs a fix.
Sticky leaves or webbing.Spider mites. Check the undersides of the leaves — you'll see tiny dots or fine webbing. A strong blast from the hose dislodges most of them. Persistent infestations need a miticide rated for soft-bodied insects. Repeat applications are usually necessary.
Yellowing leaves in good light.Nutrient deficiency. Start a regular feeding schedule. If yellowing is between the veins with the veins still green, that's chlorosis — usually iron deficiency, fixed with a chelated iron supplement.
Mosaic virus.Mottled yellow and green patterning on leaves, different from standard yellowing. There's no cure — remove affected plants and don't propagate from them. The virus spreads through cuttings and whiteflies, so manage pest populations and don't take cuttings from anything with suspicious leaf patterns.
Most of these problems are solvable if you catch them early. The ones people miss are usually the slow ones — gradual decline from underfeeding or insufficient light, not a sudden dramatic crisis.
When not to call an arborist
I'll be straight with you: the flowering maple is not a tree. It's a shrub. ISA certified arborists handle trees — the tall, woody kind with structural branches and fall distances that matter. Abutilon care belongs with a horticulturalist or a knowledgeable garden centre.
That's not me dodging the work. That's me telling you not to spend $150 on a consultation for something a good garden centre will sort out for free in five minutes. We say this about a lot of things — honestly, it's kind of our thing.
That said — if your Abutilon has been in the ground for years and grown genuinely large, or it's in a spot where a falling branch could hit a structure or a person, give us a call. We'll look at it and tell you honestly whether it's our scope or not. That assessment is always free.
What is our scope: if you have actual trees on your property — maples, oaks, cedars, firs — that need professional care or assessment, that's where we come in. We've handled 3,200+ jobs in Surrey and the Fraser Valley since 2009. We know which trees need work and which ones just need to be left alone.
The biggest mistake I see with trees — real trees — is homeowners waiting too long. A dead or structurally compromised tree doesn't get better. It just gets closer to your roof. If you have one on the property and you're unsure about it, a tree health assessment is $150 and often saves you thousands.