Abelia x grandiflora 'Hopleys'
Words: Graham Rice
Abelias have long been grown as valuable late summer and autumn flowering, evergreen shrubs which are suitable for small gardens and which respond well to pruning. They deserve a place in any small garden.
But, as ever, some are better than others and the five year RHS trial of abelias, with nearly 50 entries, proved very successful in sorting out the very best from the rest. I discussed the trial here on the RHS website while it was still in progress. In the end, only seven were given an Award of Garden Merit and one of the best of these is Abelia x grandiflora ‘Hopleys’.
This is a variegated form and, although a number of other variegated abelias have appeared in recent years, ‘Hopleys’, one of the oldest, stood out. In particular, unlike most of the other variegated forms, it did not produce green shoots which would smother the more colourful variegated growth. This is a major plus point. It also survived five winters without damage.
The foliage is dark green with irregular yellow margins, the colouring is at its most dramatic in spring and early summer but can become almost white by the time plants flower later in the year. Expect plants to reach about 21/2ft/75cm in height and spread to about 4ft/1.2m.
‘Hopleys’ is a variegated form of the popular ‘Francis Mason’ and was spotted at the Hertfordshire nursery, Hopleys, in 1994 by staff member Pamela Martin. Having obtained other new variegated forms of Abelia with which to compare it, they became convinced that their new form flowered more profusely and was hardier - characteristics that came out in the Wisley Trials. A small detail to note: the garden is called Hopleys (without an apostrophe) and so the plant’s name is also without an apostrophe.
Another interesting point - as well as the foliage being variegated, compared to ‘Francis Mason’ from which it is derived, the flowers are also different. In ‘Francis Mason’ they’re pink, while in ‘Hopleys’ they are more of a lavender shade.
The report on this trial has not yet been published as there are some issues of naming still to be resolved.
Abelia x grandiflora ‘Hopleys’ is available from Hopleys and from these RHS Plant Finder nurseries.