{"id":10329,"date":"2018-05-05T12:00:29","date_gmt":"2018-05-05T16:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=10329"},"modified":"2018-03-23T13:14:40","modified_gmt":"2018-03-23T17:14:40","slug":"the-next-generation-of-weigelas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2018\/05\/05\/the-next-generation-of-weigelas\/","title":{"rendered":"The Next Generation of Weigelas"},"content":{"rendered":"

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‘Wine and Roses’ Weigela<\/p><\/div>\n

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‘Variegata’ weigela<\/p><\/div>\n

Weigela (Weigela florida<\/em>) is old-fashioned shrub with rose colored blooms and arching branching habit in mid-spring. This shrub is native from Japan, Korea, and China (USDA hardiness zones 5-8). New hybrids of weigelas are arriving at garden centers this spring. Compared to previous cultivars that were 6-9 feet tall,\u00a0 new introductions\u00a0grow only 2-5 feet high.\u00a0Some new weigelas flaunt flashy variegated foliage. Flower color choices\u00a0include red, lavender, pink, and white and open in mid-spring. Blooms attract bees, butterflies, and an occasional hummingbird.<\/p>\n

Weigelas can be planted anytime from spring thru early fall in full to partially sunny sites. Foliage of dwarf varieties\u00a0tend to burn in full sunlight in southern climes. Shrubs bloom heavier in high light. Plants\u00a0grow in any average soil,\u00a0but do prefer a compost-rich well-drained site. During their first year or two after planting, irrigate during dry periods when weekly rainfall amounts are less than one inch. Feed weigelas in early spring with a slow-release shrub fertilizer\u00a0such as Osmocote\u2122 or Nutrikote\u2122.<\/p>\n

Prune away winter dieback before or immediately following spring bloom. All other pruning should be done soon after flowers fade. Summer or fall pruning reduces bloom next spring. Weigelas have very few disease and insect problems.<\/p>\n

Utilize\u00a0weigelas with purple foliage\u00a0as accent plants with\u00a0green and white variegated leaf cultivars. Dwarf forms, some only 1-2 feet tall, My Monet\u2122 or Fine Wine\u2122) are wonderful mixed together\u00a0with perennials or annuals\u00a0\u00a0in large containers or in garden beds.<\/p>\n

Some Cultivars to try:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Crimson Kisses\u2122 \u2013 3 foot tall rounded shape covered with dark, lipstick-red flowers kissed with a white eye.<\/p>\n

‘Minuet’\u00a0– 2 to 3 foot tall and wide with purplish-green foliage and\u00a0red and\u00a0lavender blooms flowers.<\/p>\n

My Monet (\u2018Verweig\u2019) – cream, pink and green variegation on a dwarf (18 inches tall and 2 feet wide) plant; pink blooms open in late spring; partial sun preferred.<\/p>\n

Midnight Wine (\u2018Elvera\u2019)\u00a0– purple foliage and pink flowers, a uniquely dwarf 8-10 inch tall and almost 1 \u00bd feet wide shrub in a mound.<\/p>\n

‘Polka’ – a compact, 3-5 feet plant with thick dark green foliage. Its flowers are a rich velvety two-toned pink with a yellow throat.<\/p>\n

Wine & Roses (\u2018Alexandra\u2019)\u00a0– burgundy foliage and rose-pink flowers in late spring; grows 4-5 feet tall.<\/p>\n

‘Red Prince’ – red flowers, dark green foliage and arching stems;\u00a05-6 feet tall and 4-5 feet wide; occasional\u00a0secondary bloom in late summer.<\/p>\n

\u2018Variegata\u2019 – 6 feet tall, deep pink flowers, green leaves with a creamy white edge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Weigela (Weigela florida) is old-fashioned shrub with rose colored blooms and arching branching habit in mid-spring. This shrub is native from Japan, Korea, and China (USDA hardiness zones 5-8). New hybrids of weigelas are arriving at garden centers this spring. Compared to previous cultivars that were 6-9 feet tall,\u00a0 new introductions\u00a0grow only 2-5 feet […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[444,1218,1319,1037,674,806,665,745,853,551,843,1060,601,729,933,777,630,705,646,7,113,1139,455],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10329"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10329"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10603,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10329\/revisions\/10603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}