• Evergreen or semievergreen
• Climate zones 4-24, 28-35
• Full sun or partial shade
• Regular watering

This mounding, arching shrub grows 6 to 8 feet tall, 4 to 5 feet wide. Oval, glossy, ½- to 1-inch leaves often turn dark maroon in winter in milder zones; where winters are colder, some leaves drop. The main attraction appears from early summer through fall ― clusters of tubular flowers in pure white or pink-tinged white.

Glossy abelia grows best in sun but tolerates some shade. It does well in regular soil. Stems freeze at 0 °F/-18 °C, but plants usually recover to bloom the same year, though they reach just 10 to 15 inches (they'll attain normal size after several seasons). Shearing and heading ruin this shrub's graceful shape; to prune, selectively cut out some branches at ground level.