abelia

noun abe·lia \ ə-ˈbēl-yə \

Updated on: 15 Mar 2018

Definition of abelia

: any of a genus (Abelia) of Asian or Mexican shrubs of the honeysuckle family having opposite leaves and white, red, or pink flowers

Recent Examples of abelia from the Web

Elaeagus, Sea Green junipers and standard glossy abelias are possibilities, although all would take a while to grow tall enough for much privacy.

— neil sperry, San Antonio Express-News, "Can’t keep a good holly shrub down — even when you want to," 9 Mar. 2018
At the Coastal Georgia Botanical Garden my favorite combination had them with Kaleidoscope abelias and spreading plum yew.

— norman winter, idahostatesman, "Soft Caress mahonia magically blooms, bringing in the honeybees | Idaho Statesman," 31 Jan. 2018
Mid- to late winter provides an excellent opportunity to prune most hedges, as well as shrubs and shade trees not grown for flowers, and summer-flowering trees and shrubs, such as crape myrtles, oleander, vitex, althea and abelia.

— dan gill, NOLA.com, "When is the best time to prune fig trees?," 23 Dec. 2017
Trees, Shrubs, and Conifers (Timber Press, $49.95), by George E. Brown, revised and expanded by Tony Kirkham, walks any would-be arborist through a veritable dictionary of trees, from abelias to zenobias.

— dominique browning, New York Times, "Photos, Gardens, Birds, Trees: What’s Happening in the Great Outdoors," 29 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'abelia.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.