Abelia is an excellent choice for the landscape. It’s versatile and has many positive attractive leaves ranging from green to red with many cultivars to choose from- all with different unique attributes. Fine, small leaves make it a great contrast to other landscape plants.
Abelia is a genus of about 30 species and many hybrids in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. They are shrubs from 1-6m tall, native to eastern Asia and southern North America; the species from warm climates are evergreen and colder climates are deciduous. The leaves are opposite or in whorls of three, ovate, glossy, dark green, 1.5-8 cm long, turning purplish-bronze to red in autumn in the deciduous species. The flowers appear in the upper leaf axils and stem ends, 1-8 together in the short cyme; they are pendulous, white to pink, bell-shaped with a five-lobed corolla, 1-5 cm long, and usually scented. Flowering continues over a long and continuous period from late spring to fall.
Light Requirements:
Full sun
Water Requirements:
Water regularly weekly or more often in extreme heat. Requires less frequent watering, once established.
Frost Resistance:
Frost hardy
Feeding:
Prefers a more acid soil. A general fertiliser of 2:1:2 will do well for the plants.