Old-fashioned weigela

Identification and origin

Weigela florida belongs to the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. It is native to northern and eastern China, Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, Korea, Japan and Primorye in the Russian Far East. The genus honors the German scientist Christian Ehrenfried Weigel, and the species name florida means “free-flowering.” It reached Western gardens in the mid-1800s.

It is a dense, rounded deciduous shrub with fairly coarse branches that arch toward the ground with age. The species grows 6–10 ft tall and can spread even wider; cultivars are often much more compact. The opposite leaves are oval to elliptical, pointed and finely toothed, up to 4 in long. They offer little fall color, often going straight from green to brown.

A few details help identify it in winter: the gray-brown bark carries round lenticels, a scar rings the stem at each node, and young shoots show two lines of white hairs.

The main bloom lasts about two weeks, from late spring into early summer, after the leaves have emerged. The trumpet-shaped flowers, about 1 in long, are deep rose-pink outside and paler inside; they attract butterflies and other pollinators. A second, sparser bloom often follows in summer. The fruits are small, dry, inconspicuous capsules.

There are more than 150 cultivars. Among the most common: ‘Alexandra’ (Wine & Roses®), with dark purple foliage and bright pink flowers; ‘Variegata’, with cream-edged leaves; ‘Bristol Ruby’, with deep red flowers; ‘Candida’, with white flowers; ‘Rubidor’, with golden foliage and red flowers; and dwarfs such as ‘Minuet’ and Midnight Wine® (‘Elvera’), which stay under 3 ft. Spilled Wine® (‘Bokraspiwi’), wider than tall, pairs dark purple leaves with magenta-pink flowers, and the Sonic Bloom® series reblooms more noticeably in late summer and early fall.

Light

Full sun, at least six hours of direct light a day, gives the heaviest bloom and the best foliage color, especially in purple- or gold-leaved varieties. Weigela tolerates part shade or light shade under trees, but it flowers less there.

Watering

Water regularly after planting until the shrub is well established, keeping the soil moist but not soggy. After that, in the ground, it only needs water during dry spells: check the soil at the base before you water. Its roots are shallow, so a layer of mulch is very beneficial. In a container the soil dries out much faster than in the ground; check it often in summer.

Potting mix

Weigela adapts to almost any soil, whether clay, loam, sand or chalk, and to acidic or alkaline pH. It does prefer fertile soil that is moist but well drained. It tolerates urban air pollution, some salt spray and exposed coastal sites. If needed, a slow-release shrub fertilizer is all it requires.

Temperature

This is a hardy shrub, grown in USDA zones 4a to 8b and able to withstand lows of -4–5 °F. Hard winters often cause dieback at the branch tips, more or less severe depending on the cultivar and the year; some, such as ‘Red Prince’ and ‘Minuet’, are known for better cold hardiness. ‘Red Prince’, ‘Pink Princess’ (lilac-pink flowers, 5–6 ft tall) and ‘White Knight’ (pink buds opening to white flowers) were bred in Iowa by horticulturist Jack Weigle; ‘Red Prince’ is also one of the few with truly dark red flowers, where most so-called red weigelas are purplish red. This shrub is not grown indoors.

Repotting

Weigela is mostly planted in the ground; its many dwarf cultivars are well suited to large containers or patio pots filled with fertile, moist, well-drained soil. It transplants easily. Keep its mature size in mind when choosing a spot: the species can spread 9–12 ft.

Spectacular in bloom but fairly plain the rest of the year, it fits well in an informal hedge, a mixed shrub border or a mass planting. Colorful-leaved cultivars also work as specimens, and dwarfs as foundation plants or along edges.

Pruning

Weigela blooms mostly on the previous year’s wood. Prune it right after the main bloom: late pruning removes some of next year’s flowers. Annual pruning is not essential.

To maintain a mature shrub:

• in late winter, remove dead wood and branches damaged by cold;
• cut a few of the oldest, thickest stems at the base to encourage vigorous, free-flowering young shoots;
• right after bloom, lightly shorten branches to keep a pleasing shape.

Left unpruned, the branches form a fountain-like outline that is lovely in flower, but over time the shrub can look messy. A very old plant can be rejuvenated by cutting it to the ground in early spring so it regrows from the base.

Propagation

Cuttings are very easy, because the stems root readily:

• Softwood cuttings in early summer, from tender new shoots;
• Semi-ripe cuttings in midsummer, from stems that are starting to firm up;
• Hardwood cuttings from late fall through winter, from fully ripened stems.

Common problems

• Few flowers: not enough sun, pruning done too late, or flowering branches killed back in winter.
• Dead branch tips in spring: cold damage; cut back to healthy wood.
• Aphids: knock them off with a strong spray of water.
• White powdery coating on leaves: powdery mildew, especially in wet springs.
• Other pests: flea beetles, mealybugs, plant bugs (capsids), brown scale, and leaf and bud nematodes.
• Sudden decline: honey fungus, a soil-borne fungus, can attack it.

Deer usually leave it alone. One symptom can have several causes: consider exposure, soil moisture, when it was last pruned and how harsh the previous winter was.

Toxicity

No toxicity has been reported for people or for dogs, cats or horses.