PlantFiles: Glossy Abelia
Abelia x grandiflora 'Little Richard'

I've had this dwarf abelia growing in my Zone 6 garden for more than five years and it has never bloomed. It is planted in a foundation bed on the east side of my home (it gets about 3 hours of sun if it's lucky due to trees on the east side). Despite it having never bloomed it is a great little shrub with a nice form and fine foliage but I think I'll be moving it to a new spot and hope for a bloom next year. It has been disappointing it has not bloomed.

Abelia grandiflora 'Little Richard' appears on the "Regional" list as growing in Bellingham & Issaquah WA. I live in Seattle WA & would like to know where these gardeners found this plant. No nursery in my area has it - grown by Monrovia in Georgia & too costly to ship west. Question its hardiness if Georgia-grown, too.

I'm interested in planting an Rose Creek Abilia in a partial sun area (late PM sun only). I'm in Houston. Would a get much blooom? Would it thrive in those conditions?

The "Little Richard" abelia does not show up as much in the native garden centers here in Houston but it is a great small shrub. I planted 4 in June of the 2009 summer, which was one of the hottest, driest summers I have seen in this area. The 3 in full sun were not happy but with the rains and cooler weather they are filling out very nicely and covered in flowers. I would say they are somewhat thirsty in full sun until well established. Skipppers seem to like them.

The grower told me that my Abelia x grandiflora prefers zone 7 and warmer. In my zone 6 area I planted in a protected area on the south side of the heated garden house and kept my fingers crossed. After surviving two, rather mild, winters it provided a spectacular floral show this spring. The bowing branches are like a fireworks display of whitish-pink florets (see my image). And the Jasmin-like fragrance permeates the entire garden, along with the nutmeg-like scent of a nearby blooming Fringe Tree.

It also holds up well as a cut flower but suggest that you cut the branch back to the stem to retain the plant's natural form.

Here in San Diego (92124) I have a decorative low hedge of abelia which I estimate to be about 30 years old. I've almost neglected it for the last 15 of those years.

It's in a well drained, low terraced wall, situated next to the sidewalk on the north side of the house. It has some early morning and late evening sun.

It flowers all year - the flowers are small, but there are enough of them to be showy. I'm often asked what it is as there appear to be no others in the neighborhood. The flowers attract the smaller 'gentle' bees. Leaves (leaflets?) are very small, bronze-dark green-purple, attractive.

I shear it about three times a year to keep it at 2' or so. It's a dense hedge this way.

I'm about 20% successful propagating it from semi-hardwood cuttings with rooting compound, in potting soil. Slow though.

I'm planning to use the cuttings on a 1:2 east facing slope and letting it grow much taller.

This is a shrub for any terrible gardening location. It does fine in full hot sun, but I also have one growing on the north side of the house beneath a sugar maple. It almost never receives irrigation, and yet it thrives. Blooms almost all summer.

After several years Abelia might grow a little large and straggly, but a good hard pruning to 12" or so makes things right all over again.

Despite its toughness, its long bloom time, its general good looks, and its fragrance, Abelia x grandiflora is not terribly common. Really should be used more.

This is one of my favorite shrubs. It is long-blooming, easy to propagate, and underused here in zone 5b/6a. I use it as a foundation shrub. It takes pruning well.

This is one of the most carefree flowing shrubs I've ever grown. They are truly indestructable. No pest or disease problems and have a very long bloom season here in Houston. As I read in one garden book, one was accidentally "pruned" by a pickup truck and came back with no trouble. My kind of plant!

This shrub kept on keeping on through one of our hottest and most humid summers. Fast grower, and covered with blooms the very first year.

The flowers have a honey scent that fills the air nearby.
The type has white flowers, but there are clones with pink shading.

Flowers all summer long. Flowers are small and trumpet-shaped. It prefers regular watering and well-drained soil.

Abelia x grandiflora
BOTANICAL NAME: Abelia x grandiflora
PRONUNCIATION:al-BEEL-ia gran-di-FLOR-a
COMMON NAME: Glossy Abelia
FAMILY: Caprifoliaceae
SIZE: 3 - 6'
HARDINESS: Zone 6 - 9.
LANDSCAPE USE: hedge
FOLIAGE: (whorled) fall color

I grew this fast growing shrub in a sunny location in good, well draining soil. (zone 7). It stays evergreen unless the winter is colder than normal. It can be used as a large specimen shrub or for hedging. The leaves are small and the flowers small pale pink. There are smaller cultivars.