Abelia

The Abelia plant is a shrub from the Honeysuckle family. The genus includes about three dozen different species, which are both deciduous and evergreen plants. The homeland of Abelia is the countries of Southeast Asia. There she prefers to grow in rocky areas on sunny slopes. In addition, abelia lives in Mexico.

Description of abelia

Abelia is a flowering shrub, reaching 1-2 meters in height. In the natural environment, the size of the plant can reach 4 meters, but when growing in a pot, the height of the bushes will be much more modest. Depending on the severity of the climate in which the abelia species grow, their bushes can be evergreen or shed their foliage before the onset of cold weather.

Abelia has simple ovoid leaves arranged in groups of 3. They have a glossy surface and a rich green color, which changes to purple or bronze in autumn. The length of each leaf reaches 8 cm.

Inflorescences are formed at the tops of the stems, as well as in the upper leaf axils. They resemble panicles made up of several (up to 8 pieces) bell flowers with 5 lobed petals. Their length can be up to 5 cm. Most often they exude a pleasant aroma, which intensifies in the late afternoon. However, the type and intensity of the odor may differ depending on the type of plant. In some species of Abelia, the inflorescences have a honey or simply sweetish aroma, while others may smell like lilacs.

Brief rules for growing abelia

The table shows brief rules for caring for Abelia at home.

Caring for abelia at home

Lighting

Abelia is considered a light-loving plant, but during a particularly hot period it needs to be shaded from direct sunlight, although it successfully tolerates partial shade. In the warm season, hot direct rays should not fall on the foliage; such lighting is permissible only in the morning or evening hours. It is best to keep the plant by the east or west windows.

In summer, the container with Abelia can be taken outside, leaving it there until the onset of the cold at night. For the bush, they choose a place sheltered from precipitation and strong winds, where diffused light falls. So that the change in conditions does not become stress for the plant, it is taught to move to the street and then return to the house in advance. Before you bring the pot indoors, the bush should be treated with an insecticide.

Temperature

In summer, Abelia prefers a moderately warm climate: up to 25 degrees. The plant can overwinter in a cool room, but the temperature in it should not drop below 10 degrees. Warm wintering is also permissible, but in this case the bushes should be kept away from heating devices.

Watering

Abelia at home needs a lot of moisture. During the period of development, it is watered often and abundantly. In winter, watering is reduced, especially if the plants are kept cool, but do not dry out the soil.

Young abelia are considered less drought tolerant than adults: their root system is still forming and requires more fluid. When grown in the garden, only young bushes are watered. The rest of the moistening is required only during the drought period.

Air humidity

It is not necessary to spray abelia - it can grow well even with high dry air. Instead, it is better to ventilate the room with the plant more often; you should only protect the bushes from cold drafts.

The soil

Abelia is undemanding to the composition of the soil, but prefers slightly acidic soils. Another condition is the presence of a drainage layer. Plants can grow on clay soil, but this type of soil is not considered optimal for them. Usually, a mixture of turf, peat, sand, humus and leafy soil is used as a substrate for growing abelia. You can add fine pine bark or needles to the prepared soil to increase acidity.

Fertilizers

During the growth period of the shrub, it should be fed every 2 weeks. In winter, they stop fertilizing Abelia: this allows the plant to rest before the next season. You can use both mineral compositions and organic solutions.

Transfer

Every spring, when Abelia begins to grow again, it should be transplanted into a container with fresh soil. The roots grow quickly and fill the pot completely. Having pulled the plant out of the old container, you should carefully examine its roots. Damaged or diseased areas are excised. Containers with large holes at the bottom are suitable for placing a bush. When transplanting young specimens, it is necessary to choose a pot slightly larger than the previous one.

Pruning

To keep the abelia bush attractive and have a beautiful crown, individual branches can be pruned. Over the years, plants often begin to bare the lower parts of the shoots, in this case they are changed to new bushes. Houseplants have a high growth rate, during the season the size of the bush can double. They should be trimmed periodically. In the first case, only very old or damaged shoots are removed from the plant in the spring.

To regulate the size of the bush, in the fall, after its flowering, the shoots are cut by about half. Without this procedure, you can turn a bush with long branches into an ampelous one. Another way to trim abelia is stimulating or rejuvenating. In this case, the branches are cut over the awakened buds. This will allow them to develop into fresh shoots that will bloom this year. It is important to use only sterile and sharp instruments during pruning.

Outdoor Abelia usually requires only periodic sanitary pruning.The only exceptions are specimens used as a hedge.

Bloom

The flowering of abelia shrubs is very long: they are covered with flowers from late spring to late autumn. Inflorescences can be in the form of panicles or scutes. Flowers can be colored in shades of pink of varying degrees of intensity, as well as white. Even after their wilting, the bushes of certain abelia species retain their decorative effect due to the bright sepals remaining on the branches.

Pests and diseases

Plants can be affected by powdery mildew. This occurs most often in cold rooms with insufficient ventilation. Excessive watering often causes plant decay. If rot appears on the abelia, it should be treated with fungicidal preparations.

The lack of flowering of home abelia may be due to insufficient lighting. Due to the fact that the bushes prefer acidic soil, in alkaline they can suffer from chlorosis and slow down their growth. Sudden changes in conditions and temperature jumps can cause leaf shedding.

In addition, pests can settle on abelia. These include aphids, thrips, spider mites, scale insects and mealybugs.

Abelia breeding methods

Cuttings

Abelia can be propagated using cuttings up to 15 cm in size. In this capacity, parts of branches or tops of shoots are used. The procedure is usually started in late spring, but you can cut the cuttings until the very end of summer. They root best at a temperature of about +20 degrees. To stimulate the process and create more favorable conditions, you can cover the plantings with film or transparent cans. The container with them is placed in a warm place where direct rays do not reach. The root formation process usually takes about a month, but not all cuttings can take root. Sometimes plants from cuttings bloom in the same season.

Propagation by root offspring

Abelia can also be propagated with the help of root offspring, formed annually. Sufficient root suckers are carefully removed and planted in separate containers. Due to the large number of such processes and the ease of their separation, this method is considered the most reliable and widespread.

Growing from seeds

There is another method of reproduction of abelia - seed. Sowing starts in January. Fresh seeds, which have the highest percentage of germination, are sown in loose, light and moist soil. When the sprouts have real leaves, they are cut open. The resulting bushes develop very quickly and can begin to bloom in the first year.

Abelia in the garden

Abelia is used in landscape design as a single plant and as part of group plantings. She is able to decorate curbs or ridges or serve as the basis for a green hedge. Some types of abelia can be used as ampelous. They resemble a bush with hanging branches and are planted in hanging baskets and pots.

Some varieties of Abelia successfully winter in the middle lane. This is possible when planting deeply and creating sufficient cover from fallen leaves or spruce branches. Plants are planted in open ground in early spring or autumn.

Types and varieties of abelia with photos and names

Abelia large-flowered (Abelia x grandiflora)

Abelia large-flowered is considered one of the most beautiful and evergreen shrubs that are actively grown in garden plots and flower beds. It is a hybrid species that has many shoots that form a spreading, rounded crown about 1.8 m high. The foliage is colored dark green and often has no petiole at all. Young branches in indoor specimens have a pale pink tint. Fragrant flowers, collected in panicles at the tops of the shoots, are painted in white or pinkish color. The flowering of this species is abundant, continuing continuously from late spring to September.

Abelia "Edward Goucher"

A variety of large-flowered abelia.It has a long flowering period and an unusual flower color, ranging from pink to burgundy shades. It is also remarkable for the color of its leaves. Fresh foliage has a copper tint, then turns into a dark green, and in the fall it turns bronze.

Abelia Korean (Abelia coreana)

It is found in the Far East, as well as in Chinese and Korean regions. It prefers to grow on rocks or rocks surrounded by other shrubs. The species has a slow growth rate. The height of the bush can be from 1 m to 2.5 m. The foliage is elongated or lanceolate. The flowers are small (up to 2 cm), tubular in shape. Flowering lasts about a month and begins in June.

Abelia Chinese (Abelia chinensis)

Deciduous species. It has many shoots and has a long and very lush flowering. It lasts from mid-summer to autumn. Fresh twigs may have short, dense fluff. The foliage is green and has jagged edges. Umbrella inflorescences consist of white flowers with pink bracts. Due to the huge number of such flowers, the branches of the bush often bend under their weight.

Abelia schumannii

Two-meter shrub. It has pinkish-lilac tubular flowers. Its bloom begins in June and lasts until mid-autumn. The inflorescences have a fairly strong aroma. In their place, small fruits later appear, each of which contains one seed.

Abelia "Kaleidoscope"

A variety with large flowers. Also has an unusual color of foliage, changing in the course of its development. Young leaves are colored in shades of light green, then begin to darken, in the summer months they change color to golden, and by autumn they turn purple. In this case, the center of the leaf has a darker color. The inflorescences exude a delicate aroma and are painted in a white or slightly pinkish tint.

Abelia corymbosa

A compact, rounded shrub with thin and flexible branches. Has tough leaves of a rich green color. Small teeth are located along the edge of the plates. The flowers are tubular and are white or pink. They are collected in large corymbose inflorescences and exude a pleasant aroma.

Abelia mosan (Abelia mosanensis)

Blooms earlier than other varieties. It has green, shiny and slightly bent foliage in the vein. The scent of the flowers resembles jasmine, their color is pale pink. The Mosan species is considered the most frost-resistant.