Abelia? Care, pruning, repotting capability?

Elihatt

Sapling
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Hello, I have two nursery stock abelia, one that I really like and one that’s kind of a turd. Having trouble finding much info on their responses to bonsai technique. Anyone have a thread they could link? I can’t find much. I was hoping to get info on when to hard prune, repot, etc but just can’t find much. Treat them like any other broadleaf?
 

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
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on the IL-WI border, a mile from ''da Lake''
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I have never grown one. I would treat them pretty much like I would grow lilac or forsythia. For the year before you want to see flowers, hard pruning only done right after flowering. Allow to grow out all summer if you want to see it bloom in spring.

To develop the style, make it more tree like, you might have to prune 2 or 3 times in the course of the summer. But if you prune 2 or more times, there will be no flowers, but you will be able to develop structure, and set the framework for the tree.

So to get flowers, prune immediately after flower, then not at all until the following year.

To develop the tree, prune as needed, several times a year knowing the additional pruning will prevent the next year's blooming.
 

Elihatt

Sapling
Messages
39
Reaction score
60
Location
Central Arkansas
USDA Zone
7b
I have never grown one. I would treat them pretty much like I would grow lilac or forsythia. For the year before you want to see flowers, hard pruning only done right after flowering. Allow to grow out all summer if you want to see it bloom in spring.

To develop the style, make it more tree like, you might have to prune 2 or 3 times in the course of the summer. But if you prune 2 or more times, there will be no flowers, but you will be able to develop structure, and set the framework for the tree.

So to get flowers, prune immediately after flower, then not at all until the following year.

To develop the tree, prune as needed, several times a year knowing the additional pruning will prevent the next year's blooming.
thank you for taking the time to reply! So I read the bonsai4me blurbs on lilac and forsythia, they seem to flower a bit earlier than abelia. The abelia hedges in my neighborhood just flowered this week or so and mine have just formed flower buds this week. I’m not concerned about allowing them to flower as they’re just small bushes at this point in development, raw stock. Could lilac or forsythia handle a hard chop, no foliage at this time of year? I couldn’t exactly find an answer to that. As I said, one of my abelia is a turd so I’m not afraid to excitement with it if lilac or forsythia could handle the late rough treatment.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
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on the IL-WI border, a mile from ''da Lake''
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Yes, both lilac and forsythias tolerate severe pruning after flowering. I would wager that even though Abelia flowers later than those two, that it too will survive and react with strong back budding a hard cut back after flowering.
 
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