Shrubs - Abelia
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  (June) Please advise us regarding an abelia bush that we have. It's four years old, four feet high, and has set buds for blooming in August. The butterflies and hummingbirds love it. We desire to prune it, as well as divide and move it after blooming. When is the proper time to (1)prune? (2)divide? (3) move it? Thanks so much!!

  Glossy Abelia should bloom from late spring through frost it should be blooming now. It is an old fashioned plant that has tiny white (or pink) flowers which are attractive to bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Since it blooms on the current season growth, the time to prune it would be in late February or early March -- before the new growth begins. You can do some thinning cuts of the older canes, or you can shear it -- your choice. If you can wait, I would move, prune and divide all at the same time next year in February. Pruning now would remove flowers and delay the onset of new ones.

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