The name derives from that of its discoverer, the English doctor and diplomat Clarke Abel.
The latter, staying in China in 1816-17, following the commercial mission of Lord Amherst, devoted himself, among other things, to the study of the flower of that country.
One of the last plants discovered by Abel was precisely Abelia and precisely Abelia chinensis.
These are evergreen and deciduous flowering shrubs of moderate height, with delicate flowers and graceful bearing.
Cultivated species:
A. chìnensís (m 1.25), deciduous, white scented flowers tinged with pink in summer and autumn; Abelia floribunda (cm 95 - m 1,50), evergreen, pink-red flowers in summer; Abelia grandiflora (m 1,20-1,80), semi-deciduous, white and pink flowers in summer and autumn; Abelia schumannii (1.50 m), deciduous, small white or pink flowers in late spring and summer; Abelia triflora (m 3.70-4.60), deciduous, white lowers shaded in rose in the early summer.
Cultivation:
Any permeable soil will be fine for the Abelia; sunny position, except in the hottest places where, in the summer months, it requires a half shade. Planting is carried out in autumn or late winter; pruning must be carried out after the flowering, cutting some of the oldest branches and shortening the most disordered; however, true pruning is rarely necessary. The multiplication is done by cutting in July, using glass boxes or propagation beds with a source of heat from the bottom; in spring the longer branches can be used to make offshoots.
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