Abelia floribunda
(Mexican Abelia)
Family - Caprifoliaceae
Category - Shrub
Origin - Mexico
Year of Introduction - 1841
Season of Interest - Summer
Hardiness - H5
Height - up to 3m
Width - up to 4m
Location - The Pond Garden
Description: A medium-sized, semi-Evergreen to Evergreen Shrub with a spreading habit and arching branches. Glossy, dark green leaves are ovate to rounded in shape. The leaves may be retained on the plant in a mild winter. Bright cerise pink flowers are pendent and tubular funnel-shaped. The flowers are held in clusters along the branches and produced from early to midsummer on the previous year's growth.
The name has been changed in 2016 to Vesalea floribunda. Though still widely known as Abelia floribunda, this name is not currently correct.
Award of Garden Merit (AGM).
Flower:
Bright cerise pink flowers are tubular funnel-shaped and pendent. The blooms are held in clusters on the slender, arching branches and are produced in June and July.
Flower colour: Pink
Flower shape: Tubular flowers held in clusters
Flowering time: June, July
Foliage:
Glossy, dark-green leaves are ovate to rounded in shape. The leaves are held in opposite pairs along the slender branches. The foliage may be retained in a mild winter.
Foliage Senescence: Semi-evergreen to evergreen
Foliage Shape: Ovate to rounded
Propagation:
Cuttings.
Cultivation:
Best in full sun in fertile, moisture-retentive, but well-drained soil in a sheltered position.