All Abelias do get a bit woody after a while but it sounds like yours is a young plant. I have a dozen or so A. 'Kaleidoscope' but they are all less than 2-3 years old and I haven't had to do any pruning yet. However, I have cut A. 'Silver Anniversary' back hard and it has responded very well - completely regrew, etc. Monrovia says 'Kaleidoscope' can be 'sheared', so that makes it sound like it will leaf out just fine from the cuts. Goodness knows regular old A. grandiflora can be hacked to the ground and it comes back.
Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Form and Foliage

when in doubt.. i let new [to me] plants.. to fully bud out in spring ... and see how it reacts ...

and then come late spring or mid summer.. i might go in there and do some selective pruning.. looking toward a favorable shape ...

technically.. your plant is not even established.. so all i would look for .. is for it to bud this spring ... and try to get 'established ...

now.. just because you buy something in july.. let me suggest.. that NOTHING should be planted in july/august ... and even in your temperate area .. you stressed the heck out of it ... and perhaps that is why it is somewhat leafless ...

next summer ... regardless of when you buy.. hold the plants in pot .. until the proper planting time.. in fall/winter.. whenever it is for that plant in your area ...

good luck

ken

Ken out here we do generally suggest that plants are better off in the ground than in pots, unless they will not receive enough irrigation in the ground, even in July. Yeah, we try not to buy plants then, but the nurseries always have the best stock in summer and so we do fall into the trap. I planted three of my A. 'Kaleidoscope' in mid-summer two years ago, made sure that they were adequately irrigated and they did fine. Seattle is even moister and cooler than we are in Northern California, so I doubt that the planting stressed it terribly. Abelia do have that funny growth habit - I see it on the other varieties such as 'Confetti', 'Silver Anniversary' as well as 'Kaleidoscope'. And a plant that the grower says can be sheared generally can take quite a bit of pruning. It's not like some genera that won't bud out from old wood. I've worked with Abelia for quite a while so am familiar with some of their quirks!
Trang2 - all the abelias also root quite readily from semi-ripe or hard wood cuttings, so if you do prune, you might want to start some more!

Here is a link that might be useful: Form and Foliage

Note that the above names are not cultivars but rather trade names that are not enclosed in quote marks. Regarding original question what may be seen is probably normal appearance of plant's shoots, with it not being practical or desirable to try and force shrub into being something it is not. Like most other shrubs seen in commercial landscape settings these days abelias are often closely sheared into graceless tight unnatural forms. Even though they tolerate this approach it does not mean formal pruning of these is a good idea under most circumstances.

Yes good point about those trade names...it just makes it even MORE confusing when people can refer to a plant by three names! I never shear Abelia into tight forms, but they can get very woody and leggy and can tolerate hard pruning to bring them back. Kaleidoscope and Silver Anniversary particularly (Confetti, too, actually) have a tendency to get a bit barren in the middle and cutting out the leggy stuff will force lateral buds and they'll fill in. We're in the category of aesthetic pruning here, so much is in the eye of the beholder. Silver Anniversary is showing some unpleasant signs of excessive (to me) reversion, and I'm hoping that Kaledoscope doesn't have the same tendencies...

Here is a link that might be useful: Form and Foliage

This is a variegated form and, although a number of other variegated abelias have appeared in recent years, âÂÂHopleysâÂÂ, one of the oldest, stood out. In particular, unlike most of the other variegated forms, it did not produce green shoots which would smother the more colourful variegated growth. This is a major plus point. It also survived five winters without damage

Here is a link that might be useful: Abelia x grandiflora 'Hopleys' / RHS Gardening

Thx! Will check it out.

Here is a link that might be useful: Form and Foliage

Ken out here we do generally suggest that plants are better off in the ground than in pots, unless they will not receive enough irrigation in the ground, even in July.

===>>> you can stick the pot and all in the ground.. using mother earth to temper the heat .. etc ...

and then PROPERLY plant it at the PROPER TIME ...

a pot must never be in the sun .. as the black plastic heats roots.. and that is not good ... i keep my pots in full shade ... or in the ground.. and plant in the next available PLANTING TIME ...

and keep in mind.. i may not be telling this to gardeners of vast long term experience.. they get away with a lot of stuff .. that newbies might not.. and my best advice to a newbie is to learn when the PROPER planting time is in your garden.. and plant then .. not in july/august ...

regardless.. it is never a good thing to significantly prune.. or top ... a newly planted .. UN-established plant ...

leaves are food making machines.. and if you cut half of them off .. what is going to feed the plant to grow the roots.. to get fully established ...

ken

The food made by leaves is stored in stems, so if you cut back stems there is less energy for root growth also. Pots in the ground provide an opportunity for roots to escape through drain holes, if this goes far enough you are left with mostly old roots inside the pot at final planting time.

Of course, a plant that is rooting out through drain holes is long overdue for getting out of the pot anyway. This is another negative aspect of plunging pots instead of planting out, the amount of time it is okay for a plant to be in a particular pot is not that long - the frequency with which badly under-potted stock is encountered has made me come to think of pots as plant coffins. Some pretty big, high profile wholesale operations routinely churn out what is frankly garbage, with terribly deformed roots and such crap practices as cutting the tops back instead of potting on being much in evidence. So it can appear that poor situations (for the plants) are normal or acceptable.

Can we get back to the discussion of pruning abelia. I planted two maybe 1or 2 gal pots of what I was so excited to get a kaleidoscope abelia, two years ago. When I popped these beautiful babies out of the pots, the socalled root ball fell apart. My other abelia are shrubs with a main stem/ trunk and multi branched shape. This looked like a perfectly cared for and shaped shrub, better than my others, rose creek, and canyon creek. Each one was just a huge mess of rooted cuttings, and it all fell apart, I knew this was not right. I planted them as best I could, I know I should have returned them, but I had not found them anywhere else. I called my garden center about it, to complain, they that was just the way growers do it. So now I have a real mess of a "shrub", a sprawling unkempt, though beautiful MESS! Thought I would just pull up and divide or separate, never got to it. Any suggestions on how to fix it?

if planted two years ago .. and still alive.. you are all set ...

now google: renovation pruning of flowering shrubs ... or RPof abelia...

and spend some time to get them back into a more normal shape and form ...

and no more of this:===>>>, never got to it.

ken

You can cut it back hard if it is really messy and just let it begin again. I cut back several a couple of months ago and they are almost back to the size that they were, but much tighter and fresher looking. They do put up water-sprouts from the cuts, so be prepared for thick, rigid vertical sprouts from the center, but they are easy to snip off. I generally don't bother with rejuvenation pruning with these because they don't have the clear structure that for instance the Spirea or Philadelphus have and they are much smaller. Or maybe I just never got to it....

Sara

I already thought I might anyway, i love them. They are on either side of my front porch steps. i know its not a good time to prune them, winter is best. I am going to start with the one that does not greet you when you come up the walk, as it has overgrown the plum pudding heucheras. I think I will try to dig up half of it and see what I have, cant make it worse. No hard and fast rules, I know and they are pretty forgiving. I submitted a photo of my sweet little vignette to the garden gallery. With the lorapetulum, the kaleidescpoe, and Johnson Blue geranium.

Okay it is june 7 here in Ga, with 80 almost 90 degree days upon us. I am going to tackle the abelia tomorrow. If I prune it, and i have all those cuttings, if they happen to root, how would that happen?

I actually just looked at the RP- abelia. Heres the deal, its not that they need to be renovated, never been sheared, nor overgrown. I thought maybe it was not clear that it is just a bunch of happily growing cuttings, that were probably given steroids to grow into what looked like a three year old shrub. It is not messy, it is growing beautifully, but it inside it is just a tangled up mess of twigs, so it will never grow properly, no matter how I prune it. Yes, sure, some of the same approach is needed. I'll get back to you on how it goes.

That's kinda how they grow - a tangled up mess of twigs. That's why rather than rejuvenation prune them I just cut them hard (almost to the ground) and let them leaf out again.

Sara

Sorry - missed the cuttings question. Abelia is propagated from softwood cuttings - I took many a couple of years ago in July here and had about 80% success rate. They are slow to come on - I waited a year and a half before planting them out, partly because between the dogs running through the garden and the jackrabbits grazing the chances of a small thing living are low!

Good luck -

Sara

Each one was just a huge mess of rooted cuttings, and it all fell apart, I knew this was not right. I planted them as best I could, I know I should have returned them, but I had not found them anywhere else.

This is not just the way they grow! It is not right! None of my other abelia came this way, grow this way, or were brought up this way by the grower. Imagine taking at least 50 or so cuttings and rooting them in a big pot and pretending they are one shrub, and growing it that way. Each one of those cuttings should be one plant, grown for a few years, then sold as a nice size small shrub. Just saying, I know this is not "just how they grow".

Oh jeez...didn't realize that's what you meant. Abelia start out with one stem...sometimes they even have the problem of 'weak necks' when they are young. They will eventually throw up branches from the base, though, but it sounds like yours are young plants. I was referring to the branching structure above the ground.

If you separated them and planted them individually maybe you will get some that survive and can get a fresh start.

This is so helpful to get all this info. And on any subject.

I have another question regarding the Kaleidoscope Abelia. Is it a long living plant? Can anyone help?

It is in my area. Grew one in a large container for 5 years, subsequently moved and the poor thing was ignored and looking pitiful but got pruned back hard and then planted. In the ground a year now and looking good.

Hasn't been on the market that long so just how long lived they are is up for some discussion. But I know of several that are at the 10 year mark. It is just a compact, variegated form (one of many) of x grandiflora, which is arguably the hardiest of the abelias and itself quite long lived.

As long as you do take the care to do some judicious pruning, to open up the inside of it, to encourage new growth, cutting the water shoots. Versus tight sheering, like most people do, just out of ignorant. Most any shrub can be long lived with proper care. I did this 2 x year. I loved mine, but have since moved.

I would hard prune. Most abelias (abelia x grandiflora) are "shearable" but the natural form is more attractive (especially if the shrubs are of a large size).

It is too small a plant to be very suitable for any hard pruning - just not necessary. And shearing is not appropriate, either, Just the selected removal of any wayward branching or the occasional long shoot is all that's necessary.

I have three Confetti Abelias and they have gotten pretty large since I've had them (6 years). Big enough, in fact, I'd like to substantially reduce them in size. In the past I have sheared but that hasn't been very successful. Mostly I cut back the long shoots that stick out here and there.

One of the Confettis is lovely and speckled, but I'm seeing lots of growth on the other two that's solid green, not nearly so attractive. Is it a result of unfettered growth, or is it morphing into a different look?

USDA says my zone is 9b, whereas Sunset Magazine says I'm 14. That's confusing to me. Can I prune/cut back these Abelias sometime in the fall, or do I have to wait for early spring?

If you have a question, please create your own thread. I thought that it was odd for this to pop up, because I just planted a kaliedescope abelia last week!

Pay no attention to the above remark (which doesn't really make much sense anyway). Confetti and Kaleidoscope are just different variegated cultivars of the same plants, so close enough in habit and size and growth as to be almost interchangeable.

You can prune your abelia now if you like but I would still advise against shearing it. It will not want to stay sheared - that's not the way the plant grows - and you will be doing this endlessly. Just continue to cut back the long, shooting branches that appear from time to time. Confetti gets a bit larger than Kaleidoscope so if too large, you might want to consider replacing with a smaller form. You can hard prune but avoid lopping everything off at the same height. And wait until late winter or early spring for that severe an approach. Try a rejuvenation program instead....similar to the instructions offered here:

3

Prune abelia to maintain size and shape beginning in its third growing season. Select the three longest, thickest interior stems and snip them off near ground level. Continue pruning stems selected in a random, natural-looking pattern until you have removed up to one-third of the plant. To the extent possible, make the cuts on the interior of the shrub so that the pruning is not readily obvious.

4

Rehabilitate a badly overgrown abelia with drastic pruning if the alternative is removing the shrub. Cut all stems to the ground in late winter before new spring growth begins. Abelia will generally accept severe pruning and regain its normal height within several years.

btw, the fully green shoots are reversions back to the original plant. Many variegated plants will do this. You should remove those as soon as you see them appear.

Sunset zones are completely different from the USDA zones and measure different conditions. The Sunset zones are far more detailed.

"Confetti and Kaleidoscope are just different variegated cultivars of the same plants"

Well, clearly. I just don't support the hijacking of another's thread. If someone has a problem, they can create their own. It's not any harder.

There is no hijacking being done at all!! First, this is not an active thread; and second, asking about pruning a Confetti abelia is virtually exactly the same as asking about pruning a Kaleidoscope. So where is the hijack????

"asking about pruning a Confetti abelia is virtually exactly the same as asking about pruning a Kaleidoscope"

Well, yes, I know that.

"So where is the hijack????"

It is someone else's thread. Instead of hijacking and bumping up an old thread, might it be a better idea to create a new one?

If ever you comment on or start a thread, you will be notified of new comments if you choose. Think of it as a discussion, and it doesn't matter who starts it, even if there are only two new comments each year, the past 5 years of history may be helpful to any gardener looking for advice. They may find the answers without even asking a new question. We are all gardeners at heart, who love to talk about plants and learn from each other. There are other very old threads about the saddleback caterpillar, and another one about waterbugs in the South, now that one is very entertaining. Just my 2 cents. Yes, being kind here serves us all well.

'Highjacking' is when you change the topic. These comments were on point.