Abelia - Mainly evergreen flowering shrubs.

The Abelias area wide range of flowering shrubs, - mainly evergreen but one or two also deciduous.

Abelias are mainly frost hardy, but resent draughty or windswept conditions. Together with this, some suffer from frost damage - but this soon grows out with no detriment to the flowering capabilities later in the season.

They prefer to be grown in full sun, but will tolerate light shade also. They resent having their roots in soggy ground and are liable to die if in such situations in wet winters.

abelia x grandiflora Abelia x grandiflora is probably the most common, with a cultivar Francis Mason being even more useful.

A x grandiflora is best described as being semi-evergreen, but in mild areas or when sheltered, it will retain most of its foliage through the year. The flower - very many and continuous - start from early summer and are attractive at all stages - from tight through to faded flowers. this being because of the attractive calyces surrounding the flowers.

A. x grandiflora 'Francis Mason' has the added advantage of yellow and green leaves, and is not as vigorous as the parent.

On both, the foliage is very attractive when in new growth stage, and also later in the year. Flowering starts from late June and will persist through until the frosts of early autumn.

The image above, shows the attractive calyces that are apparent with all of the Abelia grandiflora types. In early bud the flowers are slight pink but opening to white.

Abelia schumannii is also worthy of note - having rich pink flowers in abundance through a long summer period - starting in early summer.

This variety of Abelia is deciduous and has attractive arching branches which will clothe the shrub down to ground level in most instances.

It has rich dark green to bronze foliage - again set off by the attractive calyces of the flowers. This time being orange red - matching in with the bright pink of the flowers.

Abelia schumannii seems to be fully hardy, and will tolerate a little wind in exposed positions, but best planted in sheltered aspect for best affect.

Abelia 'Edward Goucher' is in-between the above varieties of Abelia in that it is semi-evergreen. (It retains either some of its leaves in the winter - or sometime all, but in a let than attractive state!) A. Edward Goucher has branches that arch over - almost touching the ground in some case, so is not bare at the bottom like many other flowering shrubs. This habit makes for good ground cover. The dark green leaves contrast well with the pink funnel flowers.

Soil Types for Abelia.

Abelias are best in well drained soils - even dry conditions. Neutral or slightly acid or alkaline will suit. They respond well to mulching with leaf litter or other organic matter in the autumn. In a reasonably fertile soil, they rarely require additional feeding - but the mulch seems to work well with this group of shrubs.

Growing Abelias in Containers.

Abelias grow well in large pots and are well suited to the patio with their long season of interest - foliage, flowers and calyces. Whilst they are happy in dry soils in the garden, they will need to be watered from time to time if container-grown. Choose a pot that will have diameter of at least 18in - 45cm with a similar depth. A mixture of soil and peat compost is best - with the addition of Osmocote slow release fertiliser at planting time, and further dressings of the same each spring.

Give extra protection to the pot - in order to protect the roots - in severe winters. If wilting with evergreens, then also water in winter.

Propagation of Abelias.

Abelias - evergreen and deciduous - can be rooted quite easily with semi ripe cuttings in early summer. A shoot of the current season's growth will be best, But easier still, will be ripe cuttings in the Autumn. These can be treated as per the semi ripe cuttings.

In all cases it is essential to have an airtight covering - such as a propagator lid of plastic bag to prevent moisture loss.

Pruning Abelias

The deciduous Abelias rarely need pruning other than 'controlling' when planted too close to other shrubs! In this event prune the shrub lightly in early spring.

Evergreen Abelias are best pruned - if required - right after flowering in late summer. This will need to be carried out no later than August - to allow any new growth to harden before the early autumn frosts. Otherwise, light pruning in late spring/early summer before and significant new growth starts.

Frosted Abelia can be trimmed back to healthy growth. Bear in mind that the damage may only be superficial to young foliage and the stem is unharmed. In this case just strip the affected leaves from the shrub. Stem damage can be assessed by examination of the bark, and if necessary, just lightly scrape some bark away with thumb nail. If brown wood underneath, then probably dead - if green wood, then all is ok!

Rejuvenation Pruning - simply cut back hard in growing season - the earlier the better.

Problems with Abelia.

Other than possible scorching of new growth in exposed conditions, we know of no problems that are specific to Abelias, with the exception of light infestation of aphids in early summer - but rarely troublesome. If grown in containers, then as with all other container grown plants - be on the lookout for vine weevil beetle problems. This is general and not particularly a problem with Abelia.