Weigela fell out of favor for a few years, but it has made a comeback thanks to colorful new cultivars.
Combine this with the fact weigela is one of the best plants to attract hummingbirds and butterflies to your garden, and you have an easy-to-grow shrub that looks good and attracts wildlife.
Weigelas grow quickly and provide color in late spring to early summer. Various colored blooms are available depending on the cultivar, but they are all reliable and unfussy.
If you like shrubs like rhododendrons and azaleas, consider weigela as a companion or alternative. Interested? Let’s go.
What Are Weigelas?
Weigela (Weigela florida) is native to Asia and is dense enough to plant a few in a row for a privacy hedge or to plant individually for color.
It’s part of the honeysuckle family and is hardy in USDA Growing Zones 4 to 9, though some cultivars grow outside this range. As far as perennials go, it is one of the easiest to propagate, plant, and grow.
Some cultivars come with variegated, burgundy, or gold leaves, which means they are attractive plants even when the flowers have bloomed and gone.
Most blossoms are red or pink, but new cultivars may bloom in yellow or white.
7 of The Best Cultivars of Weigelas
There are constantly new cultivars coming out on the market, so keep an eye out. Here are just a few of our favorites:
Polka
At maturity, polka grows just five feet tall and wide. It produces lots of pink flowers with yellow throats that last from early summer to early fall. It grows particularly well in Zones 4 to 7. Unlike some other cultivars, the flowers are fragrant.
Ghost
‘Ghost’ has light green foliage that fades to pale yellow as the season progresses. Deep red flowers contrast on this shrub that grows up to four feet tall and five feet wide.
Eye Catcher
This compact cultivar grows to about two feet tall and wide. Its foliage is variegated, and it produces bright red flowers.
Wine and Roses
Burgundy foliage and rose-pink blooms on this five-foot-tall cultivar keep the garden colorful in late spring.
Variegated (Varigata)
This cultivar makes a perfect privacy hedge if you plant a few in a row. The foliage is green with light yellow edges. In Zones 5 to 8, the yellow edges fade to a pale white as the white blooms age.
Red Prince
Red blooms form on long, arching stems in late spring and then again in mid-summer. It grows up to nine feet tall and five feet wide. A hedge of ‘Red Prince’ looks impressive in the garden when the deep, red flowers are in bloom.
My Monet
This compact cultivar has variegated white, rose, and green foliage. It grows just 18 inches tall and two feet wide. The blooms are pink and appear in summer.
Propagating Weigela
Like many perennials, weigela is relatively easy to propagate. You just need a little patience.
7 Steps to Propagating Weigela From Cuttings
- Look for a healthy stem that is free from any damage or disease. Around June, take softwood cuttings. Around late fall, take hardwood cuttings.
- Snip a six-inch length of the tip, ensuring a set of two leaves at the top.
- Dip the cut end into the rooting hormone. Some plants don’t always need it, but weigela is one I recommend using it for.
- Plant the shoot into seed-raising soil or perlite and seed-raising soil mixed at 50/50.
- Keep the soil moist using a spray bottle filled with water.
- When you see new leaf growth, test for resistance by slightly pulling on the cutting. If you feel it, the roots are starting to form.
- Keep the cuttings inside or in a shaded raised bed until early spring or late fall when it will take off. Harden off indoor plants before setting outside.
Propagating Weigela From Seed
There’s a reason why weigela is propagated from cuttings instead of seeds. The seeds will not grow true, and if they germinate, it will take a long time.
Stick to buying or propagating by cuttings.
How to Care For Weigela
Plant weigela in the fall to allow the roots to establish before the heat of summer. Plant in full sun because it’s a sun lover. A little shade is okay, but don’t plant in a shady location. At least four hours of direct sun is the minimum.
Aim for a soil pH of between 5.5 and 7.0. The soil must be free draining but can hold moisture.
Give weigela plenty of space to grow. Ensure you know what cultivar you’re planting and how big it will grow. This also applies to underground spacing. Don’t plant weigela too close to plants with spreading roots, and don’t plant too close to walls, large rocks, or other barriers.
Fertilize weigela once a year in spring. Use a mild, balanced fertilizer formulated for flowering shrubs and trees.
Weigela can be grown in containers. When grown in the ground, you need to provide plenty of sunshine and little shade. In containers, you must provide afternoon shade, especially in hot areas.
Use a slow-release fertilizer to provide the plant with nutrients, and don’t allow the soil to dry out more than two inches deep.
You can cut weigela back to maintain the shape or to fit a space. Pruning also rejuvenates weigela. Dwarf varieties don’t need pruning, and the bigger ones can be pruned every couple of years instead of yearly.
4 Easy Steps to Prune Weigela
- Prune away any dead or dying stems and branches.
- Prune to shape for the space the plant is in.
- Cut no more than 1/3 of the plant back.
- Cut stems back above bud points.
Companion Planting for Weigela
Weigela makes a good companion for many different plants. Try them with:
- Hydrangeas
- Peonies
- Lilacs
- Viburnum
- Echinacea
- Barberry
Problems And Solutions For Growing Weigela
Weigela are generally healthy, but they are susceptible to a few problems:
Twig Blight
The tips of weigela stems turn brown before dying back. Sometimes the whole branch dies off, and in nasty cases, the entire shrub dies. This is usually an issue for plants under five years old.
As a fungus (Botrytis cinerea ) causes this disease, and since fungal spores spread via water, avoid overhead watering, especially in humid conditions.
This differs from frost damage which sometimes causes the tips to brown and die off. In those circumstances, snip the brown section off and it won’t spread further. For twig blight, spray with a copper fungicide or a lime sulfur fungicide. Spray every ten days.
Prune well to increase airflow through the plant.
Leaf Spot
If leaves turn yellow and drop off the plant prematurely, it may be leaf spot, caused by the fungus Cercospora hydrangea. Other things to look out for are lots of black spots on the leaves and sometimes thickening of infected foliage.
The spots may enlarge, and the centers will drop out.
Remove all infected leaves, especially those that have fallen into the plant, and prune to allow more airflow.
Ensure the soil drains well and mulch around the plant to prevent infected water from splashing from the soil to the base of the plant. Avoid overhead watering.
Crown Gall
Swollen growths at the plant’s crown usually mean the plant has galls, a type of cancer for plants. The result is varying-sized tumors caused by a soil bacterium called Agrobacterium tumefaciens.
If the plant is heavily infected, dig it up and dispose of it so it won’t spread to the other plants. I prefer burning it on a bonfire, but you can seal it in a bag and put it in the trash.
For plants that aren’t heavily infected, prune away any infected canes or twigs and support your plant to keep it otherwise healthy.
Ensure the soil is well-draining, and disinfect your garden tools regularly. Don’t plant any species susceptible to crown gall in that spot for at least five years.
For an in-depth look at crown gall, read our article.
Fourlined Plant Bug
If you see irregular brown spots on leaves at the top of the weigela plant, it could be due to the fourlined plant bugs (Poecilocapsus lineatus). The adults are a yellow-green color with wings that have four black stripes.
The nymphs are reddish or orange with black dots. It’s at this stage it is best to start the remedial spray.
Use pyrethrin spray every five days if you see the bug or the damage it causes. Keep spraying until the damage stops or the bug disappears.
Add neem oil to the pyrethrum for long-term effect. Spray them one after the other.
Root Rot
This is usually caused by soil that is not free-draining or by soil-dwelling fungi that take advantage of the conditions. Sometimes both.
The foliage yellows, and eventually, the plant falls over because the roots cannot feed and pass on nutrients.
Avoid over-watering, and lighten heavy soils with compost, or a mixture of perlite, peat moss, and vermiculite.
Make sure you space plants properly and avoid overcrowding.
Mealybugs
If you see a cotton-like substance on your weigela stems and leaves, say “hello” to mealybugs. They often gather in masses on the foliage, branches, and stems. They suck the sap and cause the plant to lose vigor.
You may see a lot of ants or wasps attracted to the honeydew secretions from the mealybug.
Affected plants look poor and struggle despite appropriate care. Visit our guide to learn how to deal with them.