PlantFiles: Glossy Abelia
Abelia x grandiflora 'Little Richard'

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.