Abelias

How to choose an abelia

Choose by height and leaf colour. The glossy abelia (Abelia x grandiflora) is the full-sized plant, about 2m tall and wide, dark green leaves that bronze in winter, and the most flowers, for an informal hedge or a screen. The dwarf abelia stays near 1m and suits a low hedge or a border. For coloured foliage, Francis Mason has golden-yellow young leaves that mature to green and gold on a 1.2m plant, Variegata carries cream-edged leaves at the same size, and Suntastic Peach is a compact 1m form whose new growth is flushed peach and apricot. The dwarf and variegated forms flower a little less than the green one and are grown as much for their leaves.

Where abelias work

Full sun to part shade in almost any soil, which is why abelias appear in so many Australian streets and school grounds. They make hedges and screens, foundation plantings along a house, informal borders and clipped shapes, and they cope with coastal wind, reflected heat off paving and the frosts of Canberra, Melbourne and the tablelands, where they drop some leaves in a cold winter and refill in spring. In Brisbane and the subtropics they are evergreen and flower for even longer. They are good bee and butterfly plants. Compare them with the rest of our hedging and screening plants and the plants in flowering plants.

Planting and spacing

Plant in autumn or spring in soil improved with compost, and mulch. For a hedge of glossy abelia, space plants 1m apart; for the dwarf, Francis Mason, Variegata or Suntastic Peach, 60cm to 80cm. As specimens, give the full-sized form 2m and the smaller forms 1.2m. Water twice a week through the first summer. Our guide to alternative hedging plants sets abelia beside the other options.

Care basics

Feed in spring with a complete fertiliser and keep the mulch up. Abelias flower on new growth, so prune in late winter: a clipped hedge is trimmed then and again lightly in midsummer, and a free-standing shrub has a third of its oldest stems cut to the base each year to keep it arching and young. Avoid shearing the arching forms into tight shapes, which removes most of the flowers. Water in long dry spells once established; otherwise they look after themselves. Pests and diseases are rare.

Common questions

When do abelias flower?

From early summer to autumn, and in warm climates on and off through winter as well. The pink and bronze calyces stay on for weeks after the white flowers drop.

Can abelia be grown as a formal hedge?

Yes, especially the dwarf and compact forms. Clip in late winter and midsummer. A formal clip costs some flowers; an informal hedge trimmed once a year flowers most.

Is abelia frost hardy?

Yes, to the frosts of Canberra and the tablelands. It may drop some leaves in a hard winter and regrows them in spring.

How fast does abelia grow?

About 30cm to 50cm a year once established. A glossy abelia hedge from 30cm plants reaches 1.5m in about three years.