Linda Cobb: Abelia is summer’s perfect shrub

When this time of the year rolls around, I feel compelled to write about plants that can withstand the summer heat. As I was driving through town recently, a planting of kaleidoscope abelia caught my eye. It was a scorching 94 degrees and the plant was in full bloom.

Mother Nature was mean and tortured us with much cooler weather two weeks ago. We all got happy and ran outdoors to play in the dirt. But alas, the heat is back.

But let’s take some time to examine the family of abelia. This family of plants is commonly known to be very reliable, heat tolerant shrubs. Abelia are shrubs in the honeysuckle family of plants that grow well in hot climates with very little care. Most abelia have attractive white bell-shaped flowers that have a delightful fragrance and attract butterflies. These are shrubs of all sizes, which makes it convenient for you to do your homework and select the perfect one that suits your needs.

Abelia are hardy in zones 6 through 10. Depending on the variety, this plant can range in height from 18 inches to 7 feet tall. That is quite a spectrum of height to choose from.

I grow two kinds of abelia in my garden. My favorite is the Chinese abelia or abelia chinensis. This shrub is one of the tall ones and reaches a height of 7 feet and about 3 feet wide. The blooms are basically butterfly magnets, almost literally. In late summer and into fall, the bush produces an abundance of arching stems with a profusion of white bell-shaped flowers on the stems. Chinese abelia is drought tolerant, pest resistant, deer resistant, and also salt resistant, meaning they also grow well at the beach.

My two Chinese abelia are both every bit of their 7 feet tall size and are approximately 4 feet wide, and are covered in white bell-shaped flowers. They make absolutely great background shrubs. They just stand there and do their thing, attracting butterflies, smelling sweet, and making great filler flowers for the flower vase. They are adaptable to most any soil condition, and I saved the best for last. They are semi-evergreen and grow well in full sun or part shade.

The other abelia that I am very fond of is the abelia x grandiflora "kaleidoscope." This abelia is one of the smaller types of shrubs, growing up to only 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide. It is a great small shrub. And, of course, it grows in just about any soil type, and loves full sun or part shade.

Kaleidoscope gets its name from its wide and varying color located on it’s leaves, ranging from white to golden yellow to reds in the fall. It is one tough shrub making it a perfect filler in the garden bed, using it for color, compact size, fragrance, and a profusion of white flowers in the late summer to fall.

The uses for kaleidoscope are many, but it's most popular as a foundation shrub, garden bed planting and in containers. If you do grow them in containers, they will require more water than those in the ground. But I think the best use for abelia "kaleidoscope" is as a hedge. I have seen many abelia hedges around town. They grow densely and are the perfect height at 2 1/2 feet tall. In the late summer, you will find them full of perfumed flowers and attracting many butterflies. And again, the best part is that they are semi-evergreen.

Linda Cobb is a master gardener who lectures, teaches, and does garden design in South Carolina. She can be reached at 864–574-8493 or email her at lindacobb@charter.net. Visit her website at www.mygardenersguide.com.