Discovered as a branch sport of Abelia x grandiflora at Hopleys Plants in Hertfordshire and holding an RHS Award of Garden Merit, this cultivar is sold under the trade names Twist of Lime and Miss Lemon — names that suit its spring foliage, when young leaves emerge yellow at the margins with green centers. As the season advances they mature to ivory and green; by autumn they've taken on purplish-bronze tones, making it a four-season plant where most abelias are two or three.

Growing 3–4 feet tall and wide in average conditions, it suits a cottage garden, a pollinator border, or a container where the fragrant pink blooms can be appreciated up close. The flowers form on new wood, so a light prune in late winter keeps it tidy without sacrificing the display. Stems may die back in a hard winter at the colder end of its range, but it typically pushes new growth again in spring.