Pay no attention to the above remark (which doesn't really make much sense anyway). Confetti and Kaleidoscope are just different variegated cultivars of the same plants, so close enough in habit and size and growth as to be almost interchangeable. You can prune your abelia now if you like but I would still advise against shearing it. It will not want to stay sheared - that's not the way the plant grows - and you will be doing this endlessly. Just continue to cut back the long, shooting branches that appear from time to time. Confetti gets a bit larger than Kaleidoscope so if too large, you might want to consider replacing with a smaller form. You can hard prune but avoid lopping everything off at the same height. And wait until late winter or early spring for that severe an approach. Try a rejuvenation program instead....similar to the instructions offered here: 3 Prune abelia to maintain size and shape beginning in its third growing season. Select the three longest, thickest interior stems and snip them off near ground level. Continue pruning stems selected in a random, natural-looking pattern until you have removed up to one-third of the plant. To the extent possible, make the cuts on the interior of the shrub so that the pruning is not readily obvious. 4 Rehabilitate a badly overgrown abelia with drastic pruning if the alternative is removing the shrub. Cut all stems to the ground in late winter before new spring growth begins. Abelia will generally accept severe pruning and regain its normal height within several years. btw, the fully green shoots are reversions back to the original plant. Many variegated plants will do this. You should remove those as soon as you see them appear. Sunset zones are completely different from the USDA zones and measure different conditions. The Sunset zones are far more detailed.

I live in zone 7 and have a mountain weekend place in zone 6a of the NC mountains. I have grown kaleidoscope Abelia in zone 7b. I just loved it at first, but I had two problems with it. One was that it was really a brassy looking yellow in the winter. Spring brought back a nice mix of warm tones, but it is not really pretty in the winter sun. In zone 6 you would not have leaves in the winter, so that would not be a problem. However, since your hydrangea will loose it leaves in the winter, you may enjoy some evergreens in the area. I think the azalea or some of the dwarf rhododendrons would be nicer. My other problem with the abelia was also one that might not affect you. Voles ate the roots of one of them to the point that it had to be removed. Best of luck and I hope you will enjoy whatever you end up selecting.

Hi, Tom! Hi, Beachie! I got mine at a nursery on 46 called Moreno's. It used to be Fairfield Farms, and is just a bit west of I-4 on SR46. He said they are being used extensively in landscaping this season, as many people want to replace the more cold sensitive durantas. I'd ask at nearby nurseries to see if they have any, or if they can order some for you. It is really, REALLY pretty, and it said on the tag that it attracts "an amazing variety of butterflies." Probably bees, too, since abelias in general are known for that. Though this sure doesn't look like your typical abelia. Tom, I will be checking out your bumblee one. Sounds cool to me. I love my bumblies! Good luck in your search!! Maybe 46 isn't too far for you guys? Marcia

LOL (laughing about the cat sleeping on the shrub). Yeah, the KA shoots don't really arch gracefully. They stick straight up out of the casually rounded shrubs. Very weird. I guess I will cut them off. You are SO right about the heat/drought tolerance. I was annoyed when I got them in the ground and (literally) 2 days later, here come 100+ degree temps...in May. I was out there twice a day with pitchers of water just begging the poor things to do well. After a week or two of wilting every day at noon, they caught up and now they are just doing great. In fact, I'm surprised at how delicate they LOOK, but how tough they are turning out to be! They are in a big bed in front of my house, approaching (in a curve) an Autumn Blaze maple, from both sides. (Eventually, they will not be as colorful, in a few years when the maple starts providing more shade, but I actually like the yellow-green color just as well as I like the orangey-red color.) And, they are in front of a curve of Carissa hollies. They stand out beautifully.