Abelia x grandifolia
- Grows at a medium to fast rate
- Grows in a rounded shape
- Adds textural interest to landscape
- Full sun and partial shade are best
Abelia shrubs, Abelia grandiflora, have attractive foliage, which partially accounts for their longtime use in the landscape. The evergreen Abelia has red foliage throughout the summer, becoming even deeper and more brilliant in autumn through winter. Flowers offer several bursts of bloom from spring to fall, with clusters of fragrant and frilly pink and white tubular flowers. In colder areas of the country, the glossy Abelia plant is considered semi-evergreen, as it may lose half its leaves in cold winters.
This underused shrub deserves a place in every garden. Its glossy foliage reflects light so that on a sunny day the shrub seems to be sprinkled with fairy dust. But the leaves are only part of its appeal. Fragrant flowers cover these arching canes for at least six months of the year, providing a feast for bees and hummingbirds, yet deer completely ignore it.
