Abelia 'Rose Creek'
Abelia x grandiflora 'Rose Creek' · Caprifoliaceae
A low, dense abelia with crimson stems and glossy leaves, pinkish when new and purple in winter, covered in scented white flowers for four months.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 3½ ft wide
- Zones
- 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late June to early October
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around abelia 'Rose Creek'
The planner designed this bed around abelia 'Rose Creek' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why abelia 'Rose Creek' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Abelia 'Rose Creek' × 1, white
- 2 Blue fescue × 7, blue-green leaves
- 3 Rock cress × 8, pink
- 4 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 4, purple
- 5 Speedwell 'Red Fox' × 8, pink
- 6 Schubert's allium × 2, pink
- 7 Pink lily leek × 8, pink
Why this plant
- The only bells. The others are dense clusters, daisies, spires and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does blue fescue.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to Tatarian aster 'Jindai' (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for 15 weeks. From late June to early October.
- Fills a gap. For six of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 7 groups (71%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Pink runs through the planting: 4 of the 6 kinds grown for their flowers have it. Blue fescue carries the bed through winter.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where abelia 'Rose Creek' goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Compact enough for the front of a shrub border, and never needs hard pruning. After the flowers drop, their rosy calyces stay until autumn and look like a second flowering.
- A low, long-flowering shrub
- Foundation planting
- Butterflies
What to plant with abelia 'Rose Creek'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Dwarf fountain grass 'Hameln': in flower together for nine weeks, from late July.
- Daylily: in flower together for seven weeks, from late June.
- Lilyturf: in flower together for six weeks, from early August; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about abelia 'Rose Creek'
Does abelia 'Rose Creek' need sun or shade?
Abelia 'Rose Creek' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does abelia 'Rose Creek' grow in?
USDA zones 6 to 9. It is hardy to zone 6, which means it survives winter nights down to about 0 °F (−18 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does abelia 'Rose Creek' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to early October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 6 | Late June to early October |
|---|---|
| Zone 7 | Late June to early October |
| Zone 8 | Late June to early October |
| Zone 9 | Mid June to early October |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should abelia 'Rose Creek' be planted?
3 ft (90 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3½ ft (110 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many abelia 'Rose Creek' plants do I need?
At 3 ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 4 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is abelia 'Rose Creek' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like abelia 'Rose Creek'?
Abelia 'Rose Creek' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Shrubby cinquefoil 'Abbotswood': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 6 in shorter, flowers early June to mid September.
- Kalm's St John's wort: the same job in a bed; 6 in narrower, flowers early July to early August.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after abelia 'Rose Creek'?
Abelia 'Rose Creek' is over by early October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Chrysanthemum 'Sheffield Pink': from late September to early November, 2½ ft tall.
- Saffron crocus: from early October to early November, 5 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Japanese onion 'Ozawa': from early October to early November, 10 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does abelia 'Rose Creek' look like in winter?
Abelia 'Rose Creek' holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
More Abelia
- Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' Abelia x grandiflora 'Kaleidoscope'
- Glossy abelia Abelia x grandiflora
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 3½ ft (110 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3 ft (90 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late June to early October; hanging bells; white, pink
- Leaves
- Fine texture, semi-evergreen; dark green, bronze
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Caprifoliaceae
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.