What does Abelia look like? Is it very beautiful?

Question

what does it look like all year?
it blooms for very long?
How does it compare to the look of "Clethra" or "Summersweet"?
How would you describe the look of it?
Victorian? informal?

Answer 1

Abelia is a semi-evergreen shrub.

grows in US zones 6a-9a.

it forms a dense, rounded shrub with lustrous dark green leaves in summer.

it takes on a purplish tint in the winter.

the tubular flowers are fragrant and purplish pink.

it blooms for much of the summer and into fall. so it has quite a long bloom time.

it also attracts hummingbirds.

here's a link to compare it to the Clethra:

http://hcs.osu.edu/pocketgardener/source/description/cl_folia.html

here are a few pics of the Abelia:

http://www.paghat.com/abelia.html