![]() In spring, new foliage emerges bright light green, then leaves gradually mature to a mixture of golden yellow and orange. Plants produce bright reds stems with brightly colored evergreen variegated foliage. While not variegated, the foliage is a mix of orange and yellow-green in spring, changing to yellow-green and bronze-green in summer. An unexpected bounty of blooms paired with striking colorful foliage Abelia ‘Kaleidoscope’ is a showy yet compact shrub with a natural mounding growth habit you won’t need to prune. ‘Bronze Anniversary’ distinguishes itself with foliage color. ‘Raspberry Profusion’ sepals, however, are deep red, giving a long-lasting color contrast with new pink flowers and green leaves on a 4-foot plant. The sepals last much longer than the petals but are not particularly showy on most abelias. If you examine an abelia flower closely, you will see the showy pink or white bell-like blossoms that fit into smaller brownish-red sepals below. ‘Raspberry Profusion,’ an introduction from Heronswood Nursery, capitalizes on an overlooked characteristic. ![]() Five feet tall and wide, it also has the darkest-colored flowers of any abelia, best described as lilac-pink. ‘Edward Goucher’ is perhaps the best known and most popular dwarf abelia, and it is very successful in our region. But they are still great garden plants and allow us to enjoy abelia’s graces in miniature. They need more soil preparation with compost to loosen and enrich our clay, or they may become chlorotic (yellowing or whitening). But dwarfs often are less vigorous than the full-size version, and the dwarf abelias do not have the same bullet-proof constitution. These cultivars are genetic dwarfs they simply do not grow as large as the original. Smaller gardens need smaller shrubs, and abelia has been making a remarkable comeback since plant breeders persuaded it to produce more petite offspring. If the abelias look tired in August, I might water them. I can see the flowers from the kitchen windows and have a constant show as they are visited by butterflies, bees and hummingbirds all summer. On my own corner lot, an informal abelia hedge screens the street from my view. And, to save one of its best attributes until last, the blooms are scented. It is better to remember that abelia is not a boxwood.Īlthough abelia is not fashionable any longer, it is almost impossible to find another plant that combines so many good qualities. If you want a shrub that flowers over a long period from summer to autumn, is usually evergreen, happy in most soils, and offers colour even after flowering, abelia has all of these qualities. But shearing removes all the new growth, and with it the production of dainty, fragrant flowers and attending butterflies. It can be jammed into a tight garden spot by shearing, which the plant tolerates with good humor. Even a beautiful face can be taken for granted if seen everywhere, and fashions change.Ībelia is a full-figured shrub, growing 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide. But in horticulture, as in Hollywood, popularity comes with pitfalls. This is easy, and the plant became as popular and common as it is beautiful. Glossy abelia almost never produces seeds, but it is propagated by cuttings. ![]()
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