Description:

This compact shrub has glossy dark green leaves with bright yellow margins that soften as they mature; new foliage is tinged red; a tidy, mounded habit and tubular white flowers from summer to fall, make this shrub a welcome addition to smaller spaces

Ornamental Features

Margarita Abelia features dainty clusters of lightly-scented white tubular flowers at the ends of the branches from mid summer to mid fall. It has attractive dark green foliage edged in yellow with hints of buttery yellow which emerges red in spring. The glossy oval leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter. The dark red branches are extremely showy and add significant winter interest.

Landscape Attributes

Margarita Abelia is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a mounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting birds, bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Margarita Abelia is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Margarita Abelia will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 4 feet apart. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. You may want to keep it away from hot, dry locations that receive direct afternoon sun or which get reflected sunlight, such as against the south side of a white wall. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in poor soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.

Margarita Abelia makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.