Growing Weigela - Tips On The Care Of Weigela

To help your weigela thrive, plant it in moist soil that drains well. Add plenty of compost or composted manure to the planting bed to help enrich soil and improve drainage. Weigela adapts fairly well to any soil, although you'll see strongest growth and flowering on plants in ideal conditions.

Should I cut back weigela?

It is best to prune weigela shrubs in the late spring after they have finished blooming. Trimming weigela bushes right after they bloom will keep you from inadvertently pruning off next year's flowers. ... Pruning weigelas after blooming means that you will pruning before the blooming wood has a chance to grow.

How do I get my weigela to bloom?

Light Needs. Sufficient direct sunlight is essential for variegated weigela to produce bountiful blossoms. To maximize its late-spring profusion of pink, trumpet-shaped flowers, the planting site should provide full sun. The shrub should receive, at minimum, six hours of direct, full sunlight each day.

When should you prune weigela?

The best time to prune weigela would be in the spring, after they've finished blooming. The reason for this is that it takes roughly a year for the wood that the flowers bloom from to grow.

Can you keep weigela small?

Weigela (Weigela florida) is an old-fashioned, deciduous shrub distinguished by its loose, round form and its white, pink or red trumpets that appear in spring. ... To keep your plant smaller than its natural size, give it a trim every spring, right after the flowers fade.

Can you hard prune weigela?

You can cut back as much growth as you want but as a standard, 1/3 off is usually enough. I recently inherited a huge straggly Weigela and trimmed it down to about 25% of its original size. This year, it has gone crazy with plenty of flowers and lush growth.

How do you look after weigela?

Grow weigela in moist but well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade. Prune back after flowering and mulch annually with a well-rotted compost or leaf mould.

What can I plant next to weigela?

Companion Plants for a Weigela

Peonies (Paeonia sp.) Peonies make excellent companion plants to dwarf varieties of weigelas, according to Monrovia. ...
Hydrangea (Hydrangea sp.) Hydrangeas are very similar to weigelas. ...
Barberry (Berberis sp.) ...
Delphinium (Delphinium sp.)

How long does a weigela bloom?

Weigela greens up in early spring and becomes full and bushy. Flower buds generally appear within a month and the flowers open up in May and June. In the weeks after the flowers fade, new leaves appear and the bush develops the flower buds from which it will bloom the following spring.

Is weigela toxic to dogs?

The leaves of the variegated weigela plant are not poisonous to animals. Neither are its flowers or the small, inch-long fruit it produces. The only nuisance weigela plants present is their frequent need to be cut back in order to maintain shape and encourage bloom production.

Does weigela lose its leaves in winter?

Because a weigela has no leaves in winter, its stems are susceptible to a problem called sun scald, which happens when sun heats up the bark on bright but cold days, stimulating activity in the stem that can be followed by tissue damage when the sun goes down and the stem is chilled.

Why does my weigela look dead?

Another possible cause of leaf-wilt on weigela is soil fungus. Weigela shrubs are, in fact, one of the plants susceptible to the fungus Verticillium wilt. According the University of Minnesota Extension (UVM), one way to identify this fungus is to look for "a scorched appearance" on leaf margins.

How big do weigela get?

Height/Spread: Arching, upright, mounding or spreading habit; size varies from 12 inches tall and 18 inches wide, up to 10 feet tall and 12 feet wide.

Does weigela bloom all summer?

Blooming on arching braches from late spring to early summer, this is an old-fashioned beauty of a shrub that's been updated to include varieties that are more compact, longer blooming, and some with flashy foliage. And, they do quite well in hot summers, too. ...

Does weigela need full sun?

Weigela is versatile, growing in both sun and partial shade, although best flowering occurs when you plant your shrub in full sun. There are two exceptions to the full-sun rule. First, in the hottest regions of the country, light afternoon shade helps protect the plant.

How big does a dwarf weigela get?

Moderate growing; reaches 3 ft. tall and wide. Water regularly - weekly, or more often in extreme heat or containers. Thrives in average, well-drained soils.

Can a severe pruning kill a weigela shrub?

Over-pruning a weigela plant can weaken or even kill it. Never prune more than 1/3rd of the entire plant in a single season. If you need to remove a lot of growth, do it gradually over the course of several seasons.

How do you winterize weigela?

Mulch around the base of your weigela with an organic material laid down in at least a 3-inch-thick blanket. Use pine straw, leaf mold or shredded bark to insulate the roots from cold and drought. Reapply a fresh layer each year in the fall as winter approaches.

Can I cut my forsythia to the ground?

Cutting back a forsythia back to the ground is a good way to encourage new growth, according to the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension. It's best to do this right after the blooms have faded on the bush, but if your shrub didn't bloom, just do it in late spring.

Are weigela fast growing?

New varieties of weigela can grow anywhere from 1 to 6 feet tall. These plants are also quick growers, reaching their full size after just a few seasons.

Can I take cuttings from weigela?

A: Weigelas are fairly easy to start from cuttings. The procedure is to snip 4- to 6-inch pieces off the tips of branches, pinch off all but the top set or two of leaves and dip the de-leafed section into a rooting hormone such as Rootone. Then stick them into a very well drained medium.

Should I fertilize weigela?

Growing Weigela should be fertilized once a year as a part of Weigela care. A regular, balanced plant food in late winter can promote more springtime blooms.