Culture
Easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Best flowering is in full sun. Prefers moist, organically rich soils which drain well. Evergreen in the South, but generally deciduous in the St. Louis area where stems may suffer substantial damage (including dying to the ground) in cold winters. Significant stem damage can be expected when winter temperatures approach zero degrees F. Best sited in a protected location in the St. Louis area. Blooms on new wood, so prune as needed (e.g., thin to the ground up to 1/3 of old stems and any stems lost to winter) in late winter to early spring.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Abelia is a genus of about 30 species of deciduous and evergreen shrubs in the honeysuckle family from the Himalayas to East Asia and in Mexico. They are long flowering with small but showy flowers.
Genus name honors Dr. Clark Abel (1789-1826), English naturalist and physician.
'Edward Goucher' typically grows 2-3' tall in the St. Louis area and produces gracefully arching branches. It grows somewhat taller (to 5' tall ) in the warm winter climates of the South (USDA Zones 8-9). Features clusters of lavender-pink, funnel-shaped flowers (to 3/4" long) with orangish yellow throats. Flowers bloom from mid-summer into fall. Ovate, glossy, dark green leaves (to 1.25" long) turn purplish-bronze in autumn. A hybrid between A. x grandiflora and A. shumannii introduced in 1911 by Edward Goucher of the United States Department of Agriculture.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Winter die-back may occur in the St. Louis area.
Uses
Specimen or grouping for shrub borders or foundations. Also effective as an informal hedge (plants tend to lose attractive graceful shape if pruned or sheared to a more formal hedge look).