you just planted it in basically july???

if so.. i would probably repot it.. and hold it for fall planting in your preferred spot.. and see how it does there next year ....

else as you are thinking.. you might cook it planting in the heat of summer ... after a transplant.. the roots usually need a month ot two.. to settle down.. to be able to pump the water to keep the plant looking reasonably good ....

just because you buy something.. doesnt mean its the best time to plant it ... see section one at link below ...

ken

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

You are so right. I know fall is the best time to plant, spring the second best time and summer is the worst. It was so beautiful in the nursery I "just had to have it."

I have plants I've gotten from garden clubs and friends in the spring, but I don't get around to planting them and before I know it our hot days are here. It goes through my mind is the plant better off planted or kept in a pot until fall. We just had many days over 90 and I know that can't be good for plants.

I shaded the plant but didn't think anything about the temperature of the soil and the roots trying to get established.

Basic garden rules have obviously escaped me. Thanks very much for the reminder!

Ginny

I notice this is posted in annuals. Do you know what species your Abutilon is? They're perennial and shrubby so in a warm climate expect to have it for some years to come. Some are hardy even in the UK. Is the spot big enough for a fair sized shrub?

of course gal.. peeps in the profession buy wholesale.. and then mark them up significantly to protect profit whether or not they lose a few here or there ... eh??

plus.. they have to rely on their clients to take care of them after.. and i bet therein lies the rub ...

as per your other post.. anything can happen.. and the corollary.. you can do anything you want anytime you want ...

you just should not complain if you pushed the limit.. and then carp happens ...

i just think the bottom line is.. dont mess with ma nature in the heat of summer ... when you can just wait a month or two... and reduce your risk to just about nil ... presuming you can properly water a pot for those 8 weeks ...

my usual bottom line was.. if its too hot to go out there and dig a hole.. then maybe a plant wont like having its roots messed with ... so why bother killing myself to go dig the stinkin hole.. lol ...

ken

I just spoke to an employee of this local small wholesale nursery. She gave me three ideas -

1. put in a pot until fall
2. baby it through the summer
3. consider moving it to a cooler spot

I'm going to pot it up and plant in a cooler spot in the fall.

She said it's "hybrid."

Thank you all for your ideas.

Sure, you can plant things in the summer, but it takes constant vigilance to keep them adequately watered. Or over water liberally like most commercial landscapes. If you have the option to keep it in a cooler shaded spot till fall that increases chance of survival

I don't know your Sunset zone - mine is 17 in the Oakland hills - but even if you kept your abutilon well watered (which is incredibly wasteful during our Western states' mega-drought), the heat stored in a stucco or concrete wall will keep on baking it even in shade.

I have a stucco house and once it finally heats up, which takes about 24 hours once a high-pressure heat spell begins, it then STAYS hot at least another 24 hours after the fog comes in to cool things off.

If you are not in the coastal fog belt, I'd move it to a partially shaded spot. Even at that, it will still need regular watering.

Abutilons are beautiful shrubs. But that's why I don't plant them any longer. I have a cottage garden that flowers all year long, and the last time I watered was 6 weeks ago, for 2 hrs with soaker hoses.

Fog and cool nite temps really help extend watering periods. Without them.........not so good.

Thank you for the information about the stucco, I'd forgotten that. I am in Sunset zone 16, San Jose. I have put it in mostly shade during this hot spell and probably most of the summer and then plant in the fall in the ground. It's doing fine so far!