Abelia is a genus of shrubs in the honeysuckle family with about six species, grown for glossy foliage and long-blooming, scented, bell-shaped flowers. Grow in a sunny, sheltered spot; cultivated types are mostly evergreen in warm climates and deciduous in colder ones.
Family
Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle family)
Light
Full sun
Water
Water regularly while establishing, then as needed when the top of the soil dries out.
Soil
Well-drained, moderately fertile soil; tolerates a range of soil types.
Temperature
Hardiness varies by species and hybrid; protect from hard frost in cold areas.
How easy
Easy
About
Abelia is a genus of flowering plants in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. The genus currently includes six species native to China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
The genus previously contained about 30 species and hybrids. Molecular phylogenetic studies showed that the genus was not monophyletic. Abelia section Zabelia was raised to the genus Zabelia, and the majority of Abelia species have been transferred to other genera, including Diabelia, Lonicera, and Vesalea.
How to grow it
Several species of Abelia are in cultivation. Though not fully hardy, they are easy to grow in a sheltered, sunny position. The cultivar 'Edward Goucher' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Abelia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.