Bella Donna Abelia
Abelia × grandiflora 'Wevol'
Summary
Overall, we feel this cultivar of Abelia never reached its full potential in our trials, though several individuals did reach acceptable overall appearance ratings. While Bella Donna does have nicely scented flowers, the unique selling point for this species is the attractive foliage variegation, with green leaves fringed with a warm white or light green margin. Staff and open house participants appreciated the graceful form and nice variegation balance of this cultivar. As one participant remarked, “When it is happy it is great!” The main reservation with this species is its tendency to push out tight clusters of leaves while leaving long patches of bare stems that never seemed to fill in, which, combined with its small delicate leaves, resulted in non-uniform plants.
After consulting with our cooperator in April regarding the sparse habit, trials staff pruned all individuals in an attempt to encourage branching and create a denser canopy. While deficit irrigation treatments were started in April, the reference month for beginning the PGI and RPGI measurements for this cultivar is May because of this pruning. The individuals on the High-water treatment were significantly larger than the Low treatments in October. For the most part, there were no significant differences either over the season or on a monthly comparison for any of the aesthetic parameters except for October’s Overall Appearance rating when the High treatment was rated significantly higher than the Moderate treatment (Table 21a). At the open house events, participants rated Bella Donna in the same range as trials staff (Table 21b). Due to the growth difference among the treatments, trials staff would recommend that this plant be irrigated with at least the Moderate WUCOLS level or even High, though we would not recommend it at all in the growing conditions of this trial.
Basic Info
| Submitted by: | Star Roses and Plants |
| Trial Exposure: | 50% Shade |
| Year evaluated: | 2018 |
|
Height & Width
(after 2 years):
|
10" x 21" - UC Davis
|
|
Reported Height & Width
(at maturity):
|
1-2' x 2-3' |
| WUCOLS plant type: | S |
| Water Needs & WUCOLS Region: |
Medium - Region 2
|
|
Mean Overall
Appearance rating:
(1-5 Scale, 5 is highest)
|
2.5 - UC Davis
|
|
Flowering Months
|
May, July-October - UC Davis
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Growth and Quality Data
Click Here for Complete Data Set
