I've never grown the Canyon Creek variety (mine were Edward Goucher and topped out just as advertised at 5' or so) so I can't speak from experience but the different nurseries give varying sizes for it and it will probably be a gamble. A lot depends on your soil conditions, too. Rich soil with a good amount of moisture will make just about any plant grow to it's full size at maturity but poorer conditions may stunt it (unless it's one of those that prefers poor conditions!) With the abelia, you can always prune it back if it outgrows its home but I don't know how you can be sure of it's final size.

Sorry no one has answered this for you. The question has been hanging around so long I just had to chime in and try to help a bit. Not very definitive information but maybe it was helpful.

Sandy

I appreciate you taking the time to answer my question. It seems that the Canyon Creek Abelia is not readily available here in the Charlottesville/Staunton, VA area since it's a new hybrid, so I'll be planting Edward Goucher instead. Folks at our local garden centers seem to like this variety very much. If you care to reply back, I'd like to hear about your experiences with the shrub. We'll be planting one soon.

Glad to give a little help. I planted two as foundation plants on the western side of our house which is shaded by tall oaks. They got a bit of mid-day sun but not full sun. They did well but were a bit thin and needed frequent cutting back of the long growth to keep them in decent shape for the area. I suspect they were reaching for more light and would have done better in a sunnier location. I ended up having to take them out since they were being crowded out by shrubs I was more interested in keeping. Poor planning on my part! LOL

The only care they got besides the pruning was a couple of handfuls of all purpose fertilizer in spring and mulch. When they were just getting established I watered them during drought but after that they did fine on just rainfall. All-in-all, they were good, tough plants.

Good luck with yours. I think you will be happy with them.

Sandy

Thanks much for writing your experience, Sandy. Happy gardening this year! Hope we get more rain!

I realize this reply is too late for summerstar, but maybe it will help someone else who chances upon this thread.

I planted 'Canyon Creek' two years ago expecting it to grow 3'-4' tall. On the west side of my porch where it gets pretty hot sun several hours a day, the plants are barely 2' tall and are pretty scraggly. One died and I had to replace it. On the east side of my porch, the plants get morning sun and afternoon shade. They are about 5 1/2' tall and are obscuring the Rosy Glow barberry behind them. They're gorgeous plants -- just much bigger than I expected or wanted them to be. I love them and will keep them, but I'll have to move them this fall. Maybe I can replace them with 'Rose Creek,' which is supposed to be smaller.