Abelia ‘Little Richard’
* Common name: Abelia ‘Little Richard’
The flowers and foliage of abelia ‘Little Richard.’ (Credit: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society)
* Botanical name: Abelia x zanderi ‘Little Richard’ (a.k.a. Zabelia dielsii)
* What it is: ‘Little Richard’ is a compact flowering shrub with tubular, mildly fragrant white flowers that emerge in mid-summer and continue into early fall. Although it’s an Asian native, a variety of local butterflies and hummingbirds are attracted to it.
The plant’s foliage is semi-evergreen and glossy. New leaves have a reddish tint, then are medium green all summer before turning bronzy-pink in fall.
‘Little Richard’ is a good enough overall performer that it earned a 2022 Gold Medal Award from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society as deserving more use in Pennsylvania gardens.
* Size: Grows three feet tall and four feet wide.
* Where to use: ‘Little Richard’ flowers best in full sun but performs well in partly shaded sites, too. It’s drought-tough once established and is hardly ever bothered by deer.
Good locations include sunny foundations, sunny banks and borders, mixed in garden beds with perennials, and ringing front-yard trees.
* Care: Scatter a balanced, organic granular fertilizer around the base of the plants at the end of winter. Keep damp the first season, then water is needed only in a drought.
No pruning needed unless it’s outgrowing the space. If a trim is needed, do it at the end of winter before new growth begins.
* Great partner: ‘Little Richard’s’ mounded habit pairs well with upright conifers such as columnar junipers and pyramidal Hinoki cypress or with ornamental grasses. Good perennial partners include purple salvia, dwarf Russian sage, and purple coneflowers.