Abelia x grandiflora (syn. a.rupestris)

Looking for the most spectacular trees and shrubs with eye-catching flowers one might forget the smaller ones, which are not less diligent or beautiful. Abelias are one example. They come from Japan, Asia, and Mexico and are cultivated for their profuse flowering in summer and autumn, or coloured/variegated foliage which is semi-deciduous or deciduous in C.E. climate (zone 5a-6b).

Glossy abelia is a garden hybrid between abelia chinensis and abelia uniflora, and is sometimes also called abelia rupestris. Its dominant feature is profuse flowering from late June until late autumn. Flowers are small, funnel-shaped, pure white, and decorated by pale red calyxes thanks to which the flower look pale pink from a distance.

Very elegant leaves are semi-deciduous, highly glossy, 2-3 cm long, pointed, dark green in summer and pale red to soft burgundy red in autumn and winter. In warmer climates this shrub is very vigorous and can reach 2m tall or more. Here it is usually smaller, and kept smaller by pruning and trimming. Naturally it forms a dome-shaped to prostrate shrub with strong, erect new twigs which bend only later under the weight of lateral branching. If you want a tall shrub you can join these long twigs at the top with a support of bamboo sticks - they will harden in this shape and will form a large shrub quicker. Or you can prune them in early spring or in midsummer to maintain a uniform shape of the shrub. It can also be pruned back hard for rejuvenation in early spring.

Abelias love sun and heat. They are extremely drought tolerant and don't require watering from the second year in the ground. They are also widely soil adaptable as they cope with almost all but water-logged ground. They are easy to transplant. In old encyclopedias you may find low resistance to frost in cold continental climate. The truth is that we trialled all of them on long-term basis and they ALL not just survive, they thrive here in zones 5b and 6 without any winter protection, and don't even exhibit any major damage after a harsh winter.

Last update 08-01-2009; 06-01-2012; 22-02-2019