Abelia grandiflora Sparkling Silver

The Abelia x grandiflora 'Sparkling Silver' has a bushy habit and beautiful dark green foliage variegated with cream-white. It is a nice development of the 'Confetti' cultivar. This bright and compact variety, wider than tall, also offers summer flowering with gently scented white-pink bell-shaped flowers that turn into a rich mantle of persistent rusty bracts in autumn. Its attractive foliage, present throughout the year, takes on different shades of pink in autumn. A variety that will be perfect at the forefront of large flower beds, in a low hedge or in a large container on the terrace. Give this hardy bush a sunny exposure, sheltered from cold winds, and ordinary but well-drained soil.

The Abelia x grandiflora is a branch of the caprifoliaceae family. This hybrid is the result of cross-breeding between Abelia chinensis, native to temperate China, and Abelia uniflora, originating from eastern China. 'Sparkling Silver' is a recent French creation from the Minier nursery. This bush has a dense, compact, slightly spreading habit. It will not exceed 50cm (19.7in) in height with an average spread of 75cm (29.5in). Its growth is rather slow. The long, slightly scented flowers last all summer, from July to September-October, when few other bushes are in bloom. Its countless small funnel-shaped corollas, white-pink in colour, are gathered in terminal panicles. As they fade, they give way to pretty compound calyces of rusty bracts, very decorative on the autumn foliage. The arching branches of this Abelia bear glossy semi-evergreen foliage, dark green with cream-white margins. The oval dentate leaves, take on a pink hue with the first cool nights and persist for a long time on the branch.

The 'Sparkling Silver' Abelia, with its compact, bright cushion-like habit, compliments the range of plants suitable for cultivation in large pots as well as small gardens. It can also serve as ground cover, at the front of flower beds or along pathways. It can be planted in groups with other low bushes such as Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald Gaiety', Berberis thumbergii 'Atropurpurea Nana', Ceanothus repens, or Genista lydia. This variety, once well established, is resistant to drought and can tolerate temperatures down to approximately -12°C (10.4°F) in well-drained soil. It is best cultivated in pots in colder regions and stored indoors during winter.