Just a correction. 'Canyon Creek' is not 'PIIAB-II', as stated higher up. That plant is trademarked as 'Emerald Sunshine'. 'Canyon Creek'...Read More is not patented (so take as many cuttings as you want!) It looks like it is a Michael Dirr introduction.
I love the colors on these in the cooler months -- they're a beautiful mix of gold, bronze and green. As it heats up, they turn a more un...Read Moreiform green, but by then, there is plenty of other color in the garden, so it's not a big deal.
When I first planted these two years ago they looked a little chaotic and I wasn't sure I'd made a good choice. There were random canes sticking way up out of the shrubs. It took all the willpower I have to stop myself from pruning them back. I planted 5 in the foundation border on the side that gets morning sun only, and 5 on the side that gets full hot sun almost all day long.
The ones in morning sun are fabulous. The canes have filled in and arch very gracefully, the shrubs are full, the color is beautiful and they're a good 4-5 feet tall.
The ones in full sun are struggling. They're still very small, the foliage is sparse and some of the branches have died. I've had to replace one shrub that completely died. It does get really hot in my Zone 8 garden -- many summer days in the 100s -- and this full sun bed is the hottest bed in my garden, so sometimes a plant has to be a real warrior to survive there. I have lorapetalums planted in this bed with these abelias, and the lorapetalums are struggling, too.
Here in Boston Z6a, Abelia x grandiflora is usually fully cane-hardy, and sometimes evergreen, but it is occasionally killed back to the ...Read Moreground after an exceptionally hard winter. However, it grows back quickly, like a buddleia, and blooms all summer as usual, as it blooms on new growth.
This is an exceptional landscape plant, not planted here nearly as often as it deserves. Tough and adaptable, it will tolerate some shade. New foliage is yellow with a bronze tinge, fading through chartreuse eventually to green. Blooms for many months till hard frost.
Thompsons Station, TN (Zone 6b) | October 2008 | positive
Excellent plant for many situations. The copper tones on the leaves are nice to look at. It is definitely a 4 seasons plant. Relatively c...Read Moreompact growth. Looks good if untrimmed. Very low maintenance.
Cincinnati, OH (Zone 6b) | November 2006 | positive
Although I am a big fan of Abelia x grandiflora of any cultivar or form, "Canyon Creek" is a terrific improvement over the so-called spec...Read Moreies or the common "Edward Goucher." The foliage is much finer, the form more compact, and the flowering just as--if not more--effective. Additionally, "Canyon Creek" has a more discernable and very sweet fragrance.
Although seldom, if ever, noted in gardening references, Abelia x grandiflora is a profoundly tough garden plant, able to withstand full-sun or full-shade with little to no irrigation and still bloom for nearly the entire summer.
Just a correction. 'Canyon Creek' is not 'PIIAB-II', as stated higher up. That plant is trademarked as 'Emerald Sunshine'. 'Canyon Creek'...Read More
I love the colors on these in the cooler months -- they're a beautiful mix of gold, bronze and green. As it heats up, they turn a more un...Read More
Here in Boston Z6a, Abelia x grandiflora is usually fully cane-hardy, and sometimes evergreen, but it is occasionally killed back to the ...Read More
I have this plant both in ground and in a large pot and both survive well through winter and are easily maintained throughout year.
Excellent plant for many situations. The copper tones on the leaves are nice to look at. It is definitely a 4 seasons plant. Relatively c...Read More
Although I am a big fan of Abelia x grandiflora of any cultivar or form, "Canyon Creek" is a terrific improvement over the so-called spec...Read More