About
Abelia x grandiflora 'Sparkling Silver' is a compact, semi-evergreen shrub characterized by its variegated foliage, featuring silvery white and green leaves that take on a pink hue when young and during the fall and winter months. This cultivar blooms from mid-spring to autumn, producing fragrant flowers that range from white to pale pink.
About the genus
Abelia encompasses a range of deciduous and evergreen shrubs as well as small trees. The leaves can be arranged in pairs or whorls, while the flowers, which are typically funnel or trumpet-shaped, appear in clusters at the axils or tips of branches during the summer and fall. These blooms are occasionally accompanied by noticeable, vibrant calyces.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil type
- Chalk, Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Well-drained
- Aspect
- South-facing, West-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H5
Plant details
- Plant type
- Shrubs
- Habit
- Bushy
- Foliage
- Semi evergreen
- Height
- 0.5-1 metres
- Spread
- 0.5-1 metres
- Time to full height
- 5-10 years
- Suggested uses
- City and courtyard gardens, Cottage and informal garden, Patio and container plants
- Fragrance
- Flower
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Easy to grow in fertile, well-drained conditions, although not fully hardy; requires a sheltered, sunny position, in colder areas a south or west-facing wall would suit
- Pruning
- Pruning group 8. May need hard pruning (Pruning group 6) every 3 to 4 years
- Propagation
- Propagate by softwood cuttings in early summer or semi-hardwood cuttings in late summer
- Pest resistance
- Generally pest-free
- Disease resistance
- May be susceptible to honey fungus