Abelia triflora PFAF Plant Database

2 New Books ** Edible Plants: An inspirational guide to choosing and growing unusual edible plants and Woodland Gardening (Forest) [Paperback]. more >>


Search Page Content

Abelia triflora - R.Br. ex Wall.

Common Name

Family

Caprifoliaceae

Synonyms

Zabelia triflora. (Wallich.)Makino.

Known Hazards

None known

Habitats

Dry scrub and rocky slopes in calcareous soils, 1200 - 4200 metres in Uttar Pradesh[146, 158].

Range

E. Asia - N.W. Himalayas

Edibility Rating

Medicinal Rating

Care

Summary

Physical Characteristics

Abelia triflora is a deciduous Shrub growing to 3.5 m (11ft) by 3 m (9ft) at a slow rate.
It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower in June. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs)

Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils. Suitable pH: neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils.
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers dry or moist soil.

Habitats
Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses
None known

Medicinal Uses
Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally. None known

Other Uses
Wood - hard, close and even-grained. Used for walking sticks[146, 158].

Cultivation details

Requires a well-drained open loamy soil[11] in a warm, sheltered sunny position[200, 245]. Plants are best grown in semi-shade[219]. They are intolerant of water-logging[200] and of dry soils[219]. Succeeds in any soil but new growth is less vigorous in dry soils[202]. One report says that the plant likes a soil with a high chalk content[245], though another says that chlorosis occurs on very alkaline soils[202]. This species is hardy to about -15°c[184], it grows well in the open at Kew[11]. A fairly slow-growing plant, it is shy to flower in British gardens unless placed against a sunny wall[219]. It flowers on wood that is 2 - 3 years old or older[182]. Another report says that the plant flowers on the new wood[219], whilst another says that it flowers on terminal clusters[245]. Any pruning is best done immediately after flowering by thinning out the old wood.[182, 219]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200], Closely related to A buddleioides and A. umbellata[182]. The flowers are wonderfully scented[182], with the fragrance of vanilla[245].

Propagation

Seed - we have no specific information for this plant, but suggest sowing the seed in early spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 -10cm with a slight heel, July in pots of sandy soil in a frame[11]. Takes 3 - 4 weeks. Very easy, a good percentage of the cuttings root[78]. Cuttings of mature wood, 7 - 10cm with a heel if possible, November in a cold frame. High percentage[78]. Layering young shoots[245].

Plant Suppliers: Click here for a List

You can download this page as a PDF

Expert comment

Author
R.Br. ex Wall.

Botanical References
11200

Links / References

[11]Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement.

A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[78]Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers.

A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[146]Gamble. J. S. A Manual of Indian Timbers.

Written last century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.

[158]Gupta. B. L. Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur.

A good flora for the middle Himalayan forests, sparsly illustrated. Not really for the casual reader.

[182]Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos.

Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[184]Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs.

Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.

[200]Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.

Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[202]Davis. B. Climbers and Wall Shrubs.

Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.

[219]Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. Gardening on Walls

A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.

[245]Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World.

An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[11]Bill Mollison Introduction to Permaculture

Readers comment

Elizabeth H.
Rayudin Kamarudin	Fri Oct 16 2009

Extracting Value From Agriculture A “revolutionary” Timatic extraction technology suitable for a wide range of applications in the Research and Development, Food, Flavour, Aromas, Fragrances, Medicinal, Nutraceutical, Pharmaceutical, Cosmetics and Herbal Industries. Use HFC-134a Gas Extractor / Safe Environmentally Friendly Process / EC & FDA approved for Food Flavours & Fragrances.

Trevor P.
	Feb 25 2010 12:00AM

This is test comments for this plant.

Bad M.
Just testing a deactivation	Mar 7 2010 12:00AM

Pemberton Creative

Trevor P.
	Mar 14 2010 12:00AM

Mar 14 2010 12:00AM

Trevor P.
	Mar 14 2010 12:00AM

Mar 14 2010 12:00AM

QR Code

What's this?

This is a QR code (short for Quick Response) which gives fast-track access to our website pages. QR Codes are barcodes that can be read by mobile phone (smartphone) cameras. This QR Code is unique to this page. All plant pages have their own unique code. For more information about QR Codes click here.

1. Copy and print the QR code to a plant label, poster, book, website, magazines, newspaper etc and even t-shirts.

2. Smartphone users scan the QR Code which automatically takes them to the webpage the QR Code came from.

3. Smartphone users quickly have information on a plant directly for the pfaf.org website on their phone.

Rate This Plant
Please rate this plants for how successful you have found it to be. You will need to be logged in to do this. Our intention is not to create a list of 'popular' plants but rather to highlight plants that may be rare and unusual and that have been found to be useful by website users. This hopefully will encourage more people to use plants that they possibly would not have considered before.

Add a comment/link

If you have important information about this plant that may help other users please add a comment or link below. Only comments or links that are felt to be directly relevant to a plant will be included. If you think a comment/link or information contained on this page is inaccurate or misleading we would welcome your feedback at admin@pfaf.org. If you have questions about a plant please use the Forum on this website as we do not have the resources to answer questions ourselves.

* Please note: the comments by website users are not necessarily those held by PFAF and may give misleading or inaccurate information.

Subject : Abelia triflora

Links	To add a link to another website with useful info add the details here
Name of Site
URL of Site
Details