Applauded as a first-class shrub for the smaller garden according to the internationally esteemed Hillier Nursery, this resilient AGM recipient was bred in 1911 by Edward Goucher, a U.S.D.A. employee who masterminded the Abelia x grandiflora and Abelia shumannii cross. Gracefully arching upright branches and shiny ovate dark green leaves cushion a summer-long pollinator-friendly flourish of clustered funnel-shaped lilac-pink flowers with orange-yellow throats plus persistent copper-hued sepals. Remaining evergreen in warmer locales and broadcasting a cozy purplish bronze sheen once fall arrives, ‘Edward Goucher’s compact bushy habit can be sheared into an amenable informal hedge, featured singularly or planted en masse in shrubby borders and along foundations. Good drainage and protection from extreme winter cold sustain its nearly year-round handsome form.

Blooms June–September

Size: 3' 0" – 6' 0" high x 3' 0" – 6' 0" wide.

Zone 6b/7.

Favored by butterflies and garden visitors alike, masses of pink buds and rose-blushed white trumpet-style blooms, exuding the sweetest most delectable Lilac fragrance, precede colorful long lasting calyxes. Loosely arranged upright arching stems and attractive glossy leaves that glow with spectacular oranges and reds in autumn describe the rounded multistemmed frame. Planted as an easily grown informal hedge or hardy medium-sized specimen, this rarely offered Korean native appreciates periodic pruning and adapts to varied soil types and growing conditions, but detests the heat and humidity of the deep south.

Blooms May–June

Size: 4' 0" – 6' 0" high x 4' 0" – 6' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 5.