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.

Thanks for the response :) I was kind of hoping to find someone who had grown it in zone 6 to see if there was any chance of keeping the leaves in winter (maybe with a little bit of protection or something). How tall did your abelia get? And you don't happen to have a picture of the abelia in winter do you? I tried to do an image search for it in winter to see the "brassy yellow", but I don't think I had any luck.

I have no idea about the voles. I did have a columbine a couple years ago that got chewed through, but I don't know what did it. I just went out one day and saw it was laying down instead of standing up... so I tried to prop it back up and realized it was complete disconnected...

I don't have a picture and we have since moved from that house and city, so I can't get one. I guess it was just what you would call winter burn, same as many gold plants get in cold weather. If you like the plant the rest of the year, you probably won't mind it looking a little off in the coldest part of the winter. They do contrast nicely with other evergreens. I hope someone here can help you with the zone 6 and know if it will loose it's leaves. Ours stayed low, about 2 feet tall with very little shaping needed for the 4 years that we lived at that house.

First of all Abelia 'Kaleidoscope' is hardy to zone 6. Just about every website and nursery I have checked holds to this claim. So you souldn't have a problem with the Kaleidoscopes in your area. However, the Azaleas are a different story. Azaleas require acidic soil to grow, so unless you have real acidic soil, I would stear clear of Azaleas if I were you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kaleidoscope Abelia

I knew they were hardy to zone 6, but the things I have read say they are only evergreen to zone 7. I was concerned about keeping it throughout the winter. I was wondering if that "zone 7" thing was just their safety net for the evergreen rating -- like maybe it is possible for it to be evergreen in zone 6 but not guaranteed. Or if it's just not possible in zone 6. Either way, I rearranged my garden plans (yet again) and don't need a shrub quite as tall. Now I did include a dwarf rhododendron... do they need super acidic soil too? I was planning to add something to make hydrangeas blue anyway so maybe I could give it to the rhodie too... I'd make sure to pick something safe for both plants.

Here is a link that might be useful: Abelia Kaleidoscope

Yes. rhododendrons need a strong acidic soil too. You can amend your soil, but it is something that you have to keep doing. Soil wants to return to what it originally was. For me, I just try to plant things I know will thrive in my area. Sometimes something will thrive that is not supposed to if planted in a particular location in your yard. For example, lantanas are not supposed to grow as perennials in zone 6b in SC Kansas, but some cultivars will if planted along the south side of a structure. Your best source of information are fellow gardeners in your town.