Plant update, part two: Mimi gets cut.

Today, I got it in my head that Mimi the Abutilon  needs to become a mother plant.

Here she is a day or so after I got her. She was mottled and bursting with her beautiful salmon blooms:

Honestly, she is such a good bloomer. Or was. I bought her at the Philadelphia Flower Show. It's super dangerous to have the largest flower show basically anywhere less than a few miles away from you once a year!

This is what she looks like today:

Erm, not quite mottled anymore. Grew like crazy, though.

I read that Abutilon pictum thompsonii (the booth that sold this to me incorrectly labeled this one) is variegated and that it's caused by a virus. Well, I guess whatever I did to it caused that virus to run away, LOL. She is usually kept in a western window and I'm guessing that sun caused her to lose the variegation. Oh well, I like her any way she comes.

She is always thirsty. I'll move her away from the windows, give her a good drink and leave for the weekend. I'll come back and she'll be droopy as all get out. Once I water her, she's like LOL JK. Silly fainter - I have a few of these offenders (Chaka the H. phyllostachya and Jazzy the Jasmine sambac 'Maid of Orleans' are the others). I think that I've paid for not being right on top of her in terms of watering...she has bloomed for me twice more since I got her but has not bloomed for about a month or two. Which is usually fine but she constantly blasts her buds. I may have to check the root ball and see if it's getting too cramped. She is awful big for her britches now.

Anyway, I digress. She can barely fit on the curtain rod anymore because she is trying to become best friends with the windowsill. Instead of just tolerating it, I figures this is a good time to cut her a little.

And now she is officially a mom:

Hi, little one!

Mom and son.

I read up a little on Abutilon propogation and most sources say that while it's best to just grow these from seeds, they can be propogated by stem cuttings. I just watered the cutting a little and I'm going to leave it alone for a little bit. I cut off the leaves on three nodes and stuck him in there. I hope he takes.

Mimi has been a fantastic plant for me. She is growing out of her mind right now, has gorgeous blooms that she has blessed me with twice, and she is a plant that actually prefers to be moist. That's a plant I can get down with. She will need re-potting somewhere down the line but for now, she's a happy mom.

I'll leave you with one of Mimi's leaves: