Weigela ornamental shrub: description of popular varieties, use in landscape design

Most amateur gardeners consider the weigelu to be the pride of their garden – an extremely ornamental shrub with slightly sloping branches covered with delicate flowers. The bush looks really beautiful, but a little knowledge of this plant will make it even more delightful. How to grow weigela – planting and care in the open field, photos in the garden, interesting species and varieties are discussed in this article.

Brief description of the plant

The weigela shrub comes from the eastern regions of Asia. It grows wildly in Japan, China, Korea, Siberia, and the Russian Far East. It owes its Latin name “Weigel” to the outstanding botanist Karl Peter Thunberg, who named this plant after the German physician, chemist and pharmacist Christian Ernfried von Weigel.

This ornamental shrub is characterized by exceptional resistance. The bushes are not afraid of either the city’s climate or exhaust gases, so it is often planted in parks, on the streets of cities.

Morphology:

• Form – erect shrubs 1-5 m high.
• Leaves are opposite, serrate, fall for the winter, 5-15 cm long.

  

• Flowers – 2-4 cm long, bisexual, five-petal, large, grow singly in the axils of the leaves or are collected in several pieces on the shoot. Flower color: white, creamy yellow, purple, red, violet.

  

• The fruit is an elongated, thick-walled capsule, opening with two valves, with numerous small, often winged seeds.

  

Pests and diseases: control and prevention measures

Despite the fact that this is a fairly resistant plant, it can be infested with pests or suffer from disease. It is possible to understand that something is wrong with the bush because of the foliage that begins to fall off, become covered with white bloom or spots of purple or brown color.

The most common problems include:

• Aphid and worm attacks, which will help to cope with an insecticide, or an infusion of bitter pepper, potato tops;
• A mixture of lime and copper sulfate, Topsin, will help from spotting on the leaves;
• The withering of seedlings is often provoked by the larvae of the May beetle or the bear that fell into the hole along with the compost. Aktara or karbofos can get rid of this problem, with which you need to water the seedling;
• Root cancer is the most dangerous disease that cannot be dealt with. The disease can be recognized by the formation of round swellings on the roots. With the development of this disease, it is recommended to dig up the affected bush in order to protect others. It is not worth planting a healthy weigela in the same place, since in the first few years the soil will keep the disease in itself.

In prevention, systematic pruning of old branches and mechanical inspection of shrubs will be effective. Noticing a problem in time is the first step to success, since in the initial stages it is much easier to cope with defeat.

Shrub species

Weigela includes more than 10 species and more than 200 different varieties. The typical species is Weigela japonica Thunb.

Most common species

The first species brought to Europe – Weigela florida – Weigela blooming. In 1845, Scottish botanist and traveler Robert Fortuna brought him to England. The mentioned species name Weigela florida has nothing to do with the American state and simply means “bloom” in Latin. Over time, with the opening of Japan to contact with the West, other species of this fascinating plant species also began to appear in Europe.

Weigela blooming grows in mixed forests and thickets at an altitude of 100 to 1500 m, on fresh and moist, slightly acidic or alkaline, fertile soils. This species is frost-resistant, which has contributed to its immense popularity.

Photo. Weigela blooming

Reproduction

Reproduction is possible by seeds and cuttings.

Reproduction by seeds

The seeds ripen in bivalve capsule fruits, they can be harvested already in September

It should be remembered that during seed propagation, daughter bushes do not always have the qualities of a mother plant. The seeds are ready to be harvested in September or October. It is important to have time to collect them before the seed pod opens and the seeds spill out. To avoid this, you can choose a few of the most developed boxes and wrap them in cheesecloth. At the end of September, cut and sprinkle gently onto a sheet of paper.

Seed germination is no more than two years. No stratification required. They can be sown before winter, or in spring – in a container at home, or directly to the garden. It is best to sow in late autumn in a garden bed – a school. In the spring they will rise together. When they are about 3 cm high, they should be thinned out. In this bed, seedlings are grown up to 3 years, and in the spring they are transplanted to a permanent place.

Sorts

Ornamental plants grown in the garden and in pots are very rarely pure botanical species. Most often these are hybrid varieties resulting from interspecific hybridization and selection. Varieties accumulate the desired characteristics of mother plants, as a result, specimens with a certain color and size of flowers, bush shape, leaf color, frost resistance appear. Weigela varieties with increased frost resistance and wind resistance are increasingly appearing on the market.

Our gardens are dominated by numerous hybrid varieties of shrubs, mainly obtained by crossing the species Weigela florida with others. Here are a few of these varieties.

Some varieties repeat flowering in the fall, but most of them bloom only in late spring and early summer. At this time, the weigela is truly unique and outshines other deciduous shrubs in the garden.

Varieties and types of weigela, photo of a flowering plant

Varietal and species diversity allows you to create a wide variety of flower arrangements.

The most common are:

• Blooming – came to the territory of Europe from Japan. One of the tallest species, can reach 3 m, grows well in shaded areas. Blossoming lasts from May to June, the buds are pink. It is important to take into account that Blossoming does not tolerate stagnant water, so watering should be moderate;
• Hybrid – it has a loose structure of inflorescences, a dark pink hue, appears in early spring and lasts until early summer. Differs in juicy green leaves. A must in the care of the Hybrid is the drainage of the roots, to ensure the outflow of excess moisture;
• Bristol Red is a frost-resistant variety with ruby ​​or lilac-pink buds. Height can reach 3 m, it develops especially well on moist, nutrient-rich soils;
• Alexandra is one of the slow-growing representatives, differing in leaf color, which ranges from dark green to black. The buds are red or dark pink, thrives under moderate light and watering. Despite the fact that it tolerates the winter well, it is difficult to attribute Alexander to frost-resistant varieties, it is recommended to cover the shrub in frosty winters;
• Variegated – it is distinguished by a variegated color of foliage, a tubular flower. The buds are colored pink, sometimes there are double shades;
• Middendorf – It has beautiful pale yellow or white flowers that cover the entire shrub. It seems that the bush is completely covered with buds;
• Rumba is a rather rare variety that is not easy to find. Differs in small buds of a light pink hue.

When choosing a variety of weigela, it is recommended to pay special attention to the features of the plant, to study the photos, there are enough of them on the Internet. Despite the external similarity, care may differ, which should be taken into account.

For more information about red weigel and other plant varieties, see the video:

Landing

The success of growing weigela depends on the correct choice of the site, adherence to planting dates and post-plant care.

Choosing a landing place

Weigela captivates with a wealth of delicate flowers that can be white, pink, red or yellow, depending on the species and variety. The shrub grows best in a sunny location, although some varieties also allow partial shade. This plant can be planted in pots and flower beds. A bush planted in the form of a hedge looks especially impressive. The shrubs with compact crowns, adorned with numerous flowers, create ideal hedges in the garden.

Which soil is better?

The soil for the bush should be:

• fertile;
• well drained;
• not too dry;
• to better retain moisture, regular mulching is recommended;
• the pH should range from slightly acidic to neutral in the range of 6.3-6.8.

Terms of planting

In order for the bush to take up well on the site before winter, it must be planted in the spring, from April to May. Although planting in autumn is also possible, especially young plants are sensitive to frost and must adapt to outdoor conditions.

If you bought a seedling with a closed root system or it grew in a pot on your balcony or garden, you can safely plant it throughout the growing season. It should start pretty quickly. Otherwise, you will have to wait for April – it is best to do this when nature comes to life.

Weigela seedlings with a closed root system

Potted shrubs can also freeze in winter. Young seedlings and potted shrubs will take time to prepare for the cold winter season in spring and summer.

Planting – progress of work

1. Soil cultivation. Before planting the bushes, the soil on the site must be well enriched with rotted compost. Then, from the very beginning, she will ensure the correct supply of the plant with nutrients. Loosening the soil will ensure its permeability. It is also necessary to remove weeds from the site.
2. Preparing the planting pit, pot . A planting hole is dug or a container is picked up at least twice the size of the root ball of the bush. It is recommended to put some gravel on the bottom of the dug hole – a 10 cm layer is sufficient, but drainage is not necessary.
3. Inspection and preparation of the seedling . Before planting a bush, you need to carefully examine its roots if seedlings with an open root system are purchased. It is worth removing rotten, damaged roots. The roots should not be damaged – most often this is the result of improper transportation and storage.
4. Soaking the roots of the seedling . Before planting, the root ball of the seedling should be placed in a container with water, and wait until the water is well absorbed. It is more preferable to buy seedlings with a closed root system, because they are easier to adapt to a new place. Even if the purchased seedlings in containers are often very small at first, the bush grows quickly.
5. Planting scheme:When planting as a tapeworm (separately), it is necessary, among other conditions, to maintain a distance of at least 2 m from other plants. At first, this empty space may seem too large, but over time it will quickly fill up.
6. If the shrub is used in the form of a hedge, a distance of 1-1.5 m between seedlings is sufficient for its protective function.
7. Abundant watering in the first period after planting and mulching the soil will have a positive effect on the growth of the weigela.

Where to buy, how to plant weigela

You can buy a seedling in a specialized store, or order it on the Internet. However, when choosing the second option, it is recommended to use trusted sites. Otherwise, there is a danger of stumbling upon scammers or getting low quality seedlings.

If the seedlings have already been purchased, do not relax. Planting is an important stage that determines the intensity of growth and flowering.

For a successful disembarkation, it is recommended:

• To find the right site, the shrub prefers medium illumination, takes root in shaded places, but does not tolerate drafts badly. The best option is the southern section, which is located on a small hill;
• It is recommended to plant in open ground in the spring, after the soil has warmed up enough, but the buds have not yet had time to swell;
• To prepare the soil, a loose substrate, rich in humus, with a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction is best;
• When preparing wells, it is recommended to take into account the quality of the substrate. If it is rich in nutrients, it is enough to dig a hole up to half a meter deep, but if the soil is poor, you need to dig deeper;
• If the selected variety is large, the distance between the bushes should be at least one and a half meters. For little ones, 80 cm is enough;
• After the hole is ready, put 15 cm of small stones for drainage on the bottom, sprinkle a layer of nitrophoska on top at the rate of 100 g per one and a half buckets of compost;
• Before direct planting, it is recommended to treat the roots of the shrub with a growth stimulant;
• Place the seedlings in the hole, carefully spread the roots and cover with soil. In this case, it is important to ensure that the root collar remains above the soil for a few centimeters. After subsidence of the soil, it will lower and level with the ground level;
• After planting, thoroughly water and sprinkle the soil with mulch. Repeat watering for four days.

After planting, it is important to systematically water the young seedlings. If the summer is hot, watering should be abundant.

Cultivation and care

Weigela is not too capricious in growing. If you provide her with the right conditions, she will not have to worry about her.

Watering

Cover the soil around the bush with a layer of leaves. Weigel on hot days should be additionally watered, like the entire garden. After making sure that the soil is really dry, it is worth pouring in a dose of water in the amount of 2-3 buckets per 1 bush.

Mulching the soil around the bush

Plants in pots and containers dry out faster and require more frequent watering.

Fertilization and feeding

Weigels do not have special requirements for growing, but they have a fairly high demand for nutrients. Therefore, areas of the garden with fertile soil and a high level of humus are better suited. Before planting, you should think about preparing the substrate by enriching it with compost or manure.

It is also worth adding a multi-component fertilizer. Before flowering, you need to feed the bush with preparations containing potassium and nitrogen. It is best to apply liquid fertilizer for irrigation every 25 days.

Wintering

The plant copes well with frost, grows well in our climate, rarely freezes, especially if it is well protected from the cold. For cultivation and care in the suburbs, the Leningrad region, it is worth planting frost-resistant varieties. In colder regions, the shrub should be planted in places protected from the wind. When growing weigela in Siberia and other cold regions in the fall, it is worth making a mound around the plant so that the roots do not freeze. Older plants cope better with frost, while young plants need to be covered with agrofibre. This will increase the likelihood that the bush will tolerate the cold well, the shoots will not freeze.

In the spring, it is worth carefully examining the bush. During very cold or windy winters, the plant may freeze slightly. If frost has grabbed some shoots, they must be cut off after the start of the growing season. Weigela quickly recovers the lost parts. Thanks to pruning, the plant recovers faster, thickens again, overgrowing with new shoots.

Trim the bush

The shrub blooms only on relatively young shoots, and flowers are formed mainly in the middle of the branches. Without proper pruning, the bush will easily thin out from the inside. Regular rejuvenating and formative shrub pruning is essential to maintain better branching.

Weigela tolerates pruning very well. This technique improves the appearance, stimulates the flowering of weigela. Rejuvenating pruning should be done every 3-4 years by pruning the shoots low to the ground. Thanks to the fast regeneration, the bush can be formed into any shape. This makes the plant work well as a light hedge.

When to trim the weigela? Pruning should be done after flowering. If you hold it before flowering, there is a possibility of cutting off last year’s shoots that should bloom, the plant will lose its attractiveness.

Summer pruning of weigela – June-July

The procedure is carried out immediately after flowering so that the plant does not bear fruit and has time to release as many new shoots as possible, on which it will bloom next year. Pruning stimulates next year’s flowering and branching.

Work progress.

1. After flowering, the faded shoots are shortened by 1/3 of the length to a strong lateral shoot directed outward of the bush. This prevents branches from growing inside the bush, making it too compact. Cut off the shoots just above the bud or branch. If you leave too long leafless fragments below the cut – “unsightly” stumps are formed – this part will die and become a breeding ground for pathogens.

Driving.

1 – Correctly cut above the bud, directed outside the bush.

2 – The cut is too high.

3 – Bad angle.

4 – Too close to the kidney.

1. Removing old shoots. We remove shoots just above the ground.

The plant blooms most profusely on young shoots that are 2-3 years old, old shoots bloom weakly.

1. Removing dead shoots. We remove all dead, sick, broken branches.

How to propagate this ornamental bush?

Weigela can be propagated in several ways:

1. seeds,
2. cuttings.

The plant often propagates from store-bought seeds, but sometimes young specimens may not replicate the characteristics of the parent plant. Therefore, it is not recommended to collect seeds from bushes from your own garden. Propagation by cuttings from shoots works much better.

Cuttings can be cut from green, lignified or semi-lignified shoots. They are cut at the end of summer, after the flowering of the plant, or vice versa – in early spring. It is best to propagate weigela using shoots cut during spring pruning.

Cuttings are prepared as follows:

1. Choose healthy shoots 20 cm long.
2. Shoots are cleaned of unnecessary leaves, cut off the lower end with an oblique cut.
3. Cuttings are placed in the soil for a third of the length. The soil is prepared from a mixture of peat and sand.
4. You can put the cuttings in a box, covered with foil, creating an appropriate microclimate for the plants. However, care should be taken to prevent the shoots from rotting when exposed to excess condensation. Therefore, it is worthwhile to periodically ventilate the box, providing a temporary flow of air.
5. With regular watering, the seedlings should root quickly. The roots will appear in about 3 weeks, but you cannot immediately plant the plants in the ground.
6. After the appearance of the roots, the next few weeks the seedlings are watered by the drip method, sometimes fertilized with a multicomponent preparation, optimally in a low concentration.

New plants can be replanted permanently in the spring.

Proper care for weigela

Immediately after planting, the weigela requires careful maintenance , which consists in regular watering as the soil dries up and loosening to the depth of the bayonet of a standard shovel. Every time before loosening, the material used for mulching is removed and then a new one is laid.

In the first 4-5 years of shrub growth after planting, such care must be carried out twice per season. In the future, such procedures will be reduced to a minimum.

Proper care of the presented ornamental shrubs implies regular feeding. In the first two years after planting, there is no need to carry out such procedures. There is enough of the complementary food that was carried out even before disembarkation.

In subsequent years, the bush is fed in accordance with the following scheme:

• In early spring, it is necessary to equip the soil with nitrogen-containing fertilizers.
• During the period of bud formation, potassium sulfate is used, which promotes lush flowering.
• The last feeding is carried out after flowering or before wintering in September-October. Any potash fertilizers are also used here.

Sometimes weigela needs to be transplanted. This may be required during the period of abundant growth of shoots or in order to change the place of cultivation. It is better to replant the shrub in the spring, since the roots of this plant are especially vulnerable and any change in dislocation can harm the plant.

Weigela transplant in the fall can end sadly. The roots will not only not take root over the winter, but will also die.

Correct pruning of weigela

Weigela should be pruned in the spring. During this time, damaged, dead or frozen branches can be removed in order to root the growth of young shoots. To do this, remove old shoots and cut off new ones, leaving the two lower ones.

Pruning the weigela in the fall is not recommended , since in most cases new shoots remain to grow, which may not survive the cold winter.

If you leave the shrub in its original form for the whole winter, then the strengthened branches will perfectly protect new shoots, which will lead to their further fastening in spring and summer.

If pruning was required in the fall, then the basic rules should be followed. It should also be noted that the purpose of the presented process is to prepare the shrub for winter. A certain insulation technique may require the correct shape of the bush, which is what gardeners do by removing branches and shoots. How to prune a weigela in the fall:

Pay attention to this material – Ornamental shrubs for cottages and gardens.

Prune the shrub to form a crown by trimming it to the required length using a slanting pruner. Make sure buds remain on the shoot.

1. Before wintering, you can remove very old and dry branches. This is done practically at the roots themselves, leaving no more than 10-15 cm of the shoot.
2. Keep an eye on your shrub and do not allow free growth, as this can provoke any problems in the normal growth of the weigela.

Shrub pruning, video:

Application in the garden

Weigela can reach a height of 2-3 meters. Some varieties are smaller. They are planted in the garden as follows:

1. Alone on the lawn or in the garden. Looks beautiful on a bright green lawn, against a light wall or wooden fence.
2. For hedges. The shrubs do not have a very compact crown and are often used for hedges that serve as a decorative border between plots rather than an actual separation. Weigels are good as a hedge, long, jagged leaves, intensely colored in green with an attractive shine, give them decorative effect. They also hang slightly on thin branches.
3. Low varieties can be planted in pots, containers.
4. Dwarf varieties can be used to create green strokes.

If the weigela is not planted as a hedge or a potted plant, forsythia, jasmine, and colquitia will be a good company for her.

Tall perennials, such as astilbe, are also suitable. It is only important to maintain sufficient spacing between growing bushes and perennials.

Weigela looks beautiful in autumn.

Weigela is a wonderful shrub that does not need special care. Its cultivation is within the power of even novice gardeners. A little attention and a little care will allow the plant to delight with beautiful flowers year after year.

Weigela in landscape design

This shrub is widely used in landscaping. But it is very attractive not only during flowering, but also with its color of foliage, in some varieties it is two and three colors. Weigela with spirea looks very good, since they bloom at the same time.

Having a good imagination, it can be combined with various varieties of lilacs, making them the same pruning height. The shrub near the wall of the house will look great in the company of evergreens and small flowers at the feet of the bush.

This shrub is planted in various ways:

1. They are planted along the site, creating attractive living fences from it.
2. Looks good in the center against the background of an ideal lawn, especially during the flowering period.
3. Low-growing varieties of weigela are perfect for decorating alpine slides.
4. They are planted in the foreground near the conifers.

This shrub is in great demand in landscape design. By choosing the right varieties, you can recreate the wonderful original appearance of nature.

Gardeners always create their masterpieces so that they please the eye not only to him, but also to the people around him, and therefore weigela will be an excellent option for decorating a garden and various kinds of terraces.

Expert tips video – flowering weigela and species

Read about annual flowers here.