Abelia grandiflora Pink Pong

Abelia x grandiflora Pink Pong ('ABENOV41') is a beautiful new addition to the range of flowering and easy-to-grow bushes in gardens. It stands out for the duration and beauty of its flowering, consisting of violet-pink flowers of a good size for an abelia. Autumn paints its foliage with rich bronze shades and crowns its branches with pretty rust-coloured bracts that persist for a long time. Hardy, evergreen, and beautifully coloured from May to October, this undemanding medium-sized bush will find its place in a trimmed or untrimmed hedge, planted as a standalone, or in a mixed bed. It is a great choice for a small-sized garden.

Abelia x grandiflora Pink Pong ('ABENOV41') is a French creation (INRA/SAPHINOV) from 2014. This bush belongs to the Caprifoliaceae family and comes from Abelia x grandiflora, a vigorous, undemanding, and hardy species. With a moderately fast growth, Pink Pong® will reach on average 1.6 m (5.2 ft) in height and 1.35 m (4.4 ft) in width. Its habit is bushy and dense. This abelia offers an early and prolonged, slightly fragrant, flowering, that renews itself from May to September-October. Its countless funnel-shaped corollas, 3 cm (1.2 in) wide, ranging from violet-pink to tender lilac, sprinkled with yellow-orange at the throat, are gathered in small terminal clusters. As the flowers fade, they give way to pretty compound calyxes of rust-coloured bracts, which is very decorative on the autumn foliage. The slender and arching branches of the abelia bear glossy foliage of light green colour until summer. Under the effect of the first cool nights, the foliage takes on a more or less bronzed hue and persists for a long time on the branch. This variety retains its foliage in winter, except in the case of severe winters. A well-established bush will withstand short frosts of around -15° C (5° F), if the soil it is planted in is not waterlogged in winter.

This medium-sized abelia is suitable for planting both in groups with other bushes and alone. It also suits planting in a flowering hedge, either free or trimmed. It can be paired with companions such as Kolkwitzia amabilis 'Pink Cloud', Deutzia, Syringa microphylla 'Superba', botanical or shrub roses, Lonicera fragrantissima, a purple Berberis, or even Buddleia alternifolia 'Argentea', among many others. It is perfectly possible to plant it in a container on a terrace or balcony where it can live for many years.