Beautiful and bright weigela flowers look very impressive in garden design and it is not surprising that this flowering shrub has won the hearts of many gardeners. Weigela, planting and caring for which is not difficult, but still provides for some rules, can fit into any garden design because the flower has a wide variety of shades.
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general description
Weigela is an ornamental flowering upright shrub. On average, the height of an adult plant reaches one and a half meters, but some varieties can be less than a meter high, while others can reach three meters. It has elongated pointed leaves with veins, the edges of which are smooth or serrated. Most often there are leaves of green or reddish colors, some varieties differ in a different color of the leaves.
The flowers are quite large, have a tubular or funnel shape. The color scheme of coloring is diverse, most often there are flowers of cream, white, different shades of red or pink. Of particular interest is the change in color of the corolla during flowering.
Weigela Carnaval
Flowers are borne singly or in small clusters. Flowers have no scent. Often weigela blooms twice a year, it depends on weather conditions and on the correct care of the plant, however, repeated flowering is distinguished by fewer flowers.
An interesting feature of the ornamental shrub is that flowering begins even before the foliage appears and it looks magical - many flowers are located on the branches. This plant is often used to ennoble the garden plot, decorate it and give it a special charm. In most cases, the shrub does not tolerate frost, but some varieties are resistant to cold and take root well even in Siberia.
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Weigela has more than fifteen varieties and many species, however, in our latitudes, varieties that easily tolerate cold are most popular, for example, weigela is pleasant, it is also early.
Weigela pleasant (Weigela Suavis)
The shrub of this variety grows to a height of two meters, the crown is spherical, and the foliage is slightly lowered.. Flowers of a bright pink color are formed in inflorescences of 2-3 pieces. In some cases, the pharynx of the flower may have a white-yellow color. The flowering period of early weigela falls at the end of May and lasts from ten to thirty days.
Variegata
A kind of weigela is pleasant. A distinctive feature is bright green foliage, on the surface of which yellow spots are located, and in the summer they become cream.
Florida (blooming)
The height of the bush can reach three meters. Serrated leaf. The flowers are collected in inflorescences of 3-4 bright pink flowers.
Flowering begins at the end of May, and flowering continues for three weeks.
Its most famous varieties:
Purpurea (Purple)
The height of an adult shrub reaches one and a half meters, has a dense crown with reddish-brown leaves.
The color is pink, the pharynx is yellow. Flowering falls on June-July.
Alba
Miniature bush. The flowers are white, which in the process of flowering acquire a pinkish tint.
Victoria
The height of the bush reaches one meter. The foliage is brown-red. Crimson flowers.
hybrid
It has a wide spreading crown. Flowering is plentiful. The height of the bush on average is one and a half meters. The flowers are tubular-funnel-shaped, arranged singly or in small inflorescences.
Weigela hybrid Rumba
The color depends on the variety, it can be white, purple. Pink, purple or purple-red.
The most popular are the following:
Bristol Ruby
Sufficiently tall bushes, whose height is about three meters, and the crown is up to three and a half meters in diameter. The color of the leaves is bright green.
The flowers have an orange throat, the predominant color is pink with a darker edge. The flowering of the shrub falls at the end of June. Differs in rapid growth.
Red Prince
The height of the bush is not more than one and a half meters. The crown is wide and spreading.
The flowers are rich red in color, the foliage is bright green.
Middendorf
Weigela Middendorffiana
Low shrub, its average height is one to one and a half meters. Yellow flowers with an orange throat are especially large, there are specimens of about 4 cm.
They are located in inflorescences of 2-6 pieces or singly. It often blooms twice a season.
The varieties described are far from all varieties, gardeners also grow such species as Maksimovich's Weigela, Korean, Japanese, Pink Poppet, Carnival, Minor Black, Alexandra, Weigela Olympiad and others.
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How to plant a plant
Proper planting and care of shrubs
In order for your plant to please with its beauty for many years and give an abundant amount of magical flowers, it is very important to approach the issue of planting very responsibly. It is necessary to choose the time and the most suitable place for the shrub.
It is optimal to plant in the spring at a time when the soil is just beginning to warm up, and the buds have not yet swollen, it was at this time that shrub best survival.
Weigela bush in the garden
It is important to choose the right landing site. It is best to give if it will be a place on a small hill, which will not be exposed to winds from the north side and will be protected from drafts. Drafts can be dangerous for buds and flowers - they can simply crumble. The best location for weigela is the south side.
It is correct to place the shrub in a well-lit area, since light is necessary for flowering and an abundant number of buds. The soil should be saturated with humus and have a loose structure.
It is recommended to plant seedlings that have reached the age of three.
Landing in open ground
shrub planting
Consists of several stages:
The first is to choose the right place for planting a seedling. The place should be moderately sunny or be in a small penumbra. Do not choose too shaded places, this plant does not like shade.
Particular attention should be paid to protection from wind and drafts. A fence, building, or other shrub may be used as protection. If there is no protection, then gusts of wind will pluck the flowers.
After choosing a place, we proceed directly to planting seedlings. To do this, a hole is dug about fifty centimeters deep, if the land is fertile, then intensive top dressing is not required and the depth can be reduced to forty centimeters. The dimensions of the pit should be 50 by 50 cm.
The bottom of the dug hole should be filled with drainage, for this a layer of sand and gravel is used. The optimal height of the drainage layer is not about fifteen centimeters.
The seedling is placed in a hole and carefully filled with the prepared mixture: two parts of sand, two parts of leafy earth or humus, one part of soddy land. If the soil in your garden is not very fertile, then compost is added to the mixture, about fifteen liters per bush, and one hundred grams of nitrophoska.
If a container was used to grow a seedling, then the root system is not required to be freed from the ground, planting should be done immediately with a lump. Then you need to provide abundant watering. Next, you need to perform mulching around the root circle.
If you know that the survival of the seedling is at risk, then the plant is pre-treated with special growth-stimulating agents.
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- propagation by seeds
- propagation by layering
- vegetative reproduction
Reproduction by seeds
The vast majority of weigels that can be found in our regions are hybrid varieties. They differ from their wild brothers in a larger color palette, their flowers are larger, and the color of the leaves is more saturated, the color of the leaves is often purple.
The disadvantages of this method of reproduction include the fact that it is not able to convey all the features of the variety of the propagated plant.
plant seeds
But for seed propagation, there are several rules. The first thing to remember is that the seeds have a short shelf life and after a year they already lose their germination. It is necessary to sow seeds in the spring in special pots in which a special mixture is placed: two parts soil and one part sand. A small layer of sand is poured directly.
Next, the sowing must be covered with transparent glass and placed in heat. It is important to periodically ventilate the seed pot and water it carefully, and it is best to use a spray bottle for watering, which is sprayed on the surface of the soil. After three weeks, the first shoots will become noticeable.
When two leaves are formed on the shoots, you can place them in separate pots. In new containers, observe high humidity, keep the plant under the film until it begins to grow.
It is also known to propagate weigela by self-sowing, but in this case it is practically impossible to plant a young seedling. This is due to the fact that self-sowing is already possible in mature plants that require less careful care, compacted soil is suitable for them, unlike young plants. Trying to plant a young seedling from dense soil, weak roots are injured or completely cut off and the plant does not survive.
Reproduction by layering
Reproduction in this way is done in the spring. To do this, take a branch, which is located near the ground. It is slightly bent and a small incision is made in the wood. The resulting incision must be processed with a specially prepared mixture of root and activated carbon powder.
Scheme for obtaining layering from a plant
Next, a match is inserted and dug in such a way that the resulting incision is placed in the ground. Studs or small metal arcs can be used to secure the layering. In autumn or next spring, a new plant must be cut off from the mother plant and planted in the place chosen for it.
Vegetative propagation
Vegetative propagation is considered the best of all the options considered., namely reproduction by cuttings. If your goal is to get a large number of young shoots, then the first thing to do is to choose a strong and healthy plant with abundant flowering, which will act as a mother bush. Its main purpose is to bring the maximum number of healthy and strong cuttings.
Initially, it is necessary to get rid of all obviously weak shoots, they need to be cut off at the root. Strong shoots also need to be cut, but only to half. Trim as many branches as you need new plants. Shoots that grow back after pruning are much more capable of forming new roots, unlike a plant that has not been pruned.
In the process of grafting, the upper part of the shoot is cut off only if it has not managed to mature. The length of the cuttings is ten to fifteen centimeters.
Rooted cutting planted in open ground
For rooting a large number of cuttings, it is convenient to use a cold greenhouse, and if you need several cuttings, then a regular pot will do., in which drainage is poured to the bottom and covered with soil from above, and then covered with three centimeters of sand.
After that, holes are made in the soil with a special wooden stick and prepared cuttings are planted in them, deepening each by four centimeters. After planting, watering with a fungicide is carried out, the pot is covered with a film and placed in a dark and warm place.
Subsequent care provides for the correct watering regime and timely ventilation of the cuttings.. With the advent of spring, the shelter of the cuttings can be removed when the resulting shoots are noticed. You can plant such cuttings after a year and a half. During this time, it is advisable to pinch the plant several times.
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Care
The mild climate of the southern regions is best suited for growing weigela. However, some varieties perfectly tolerate the climatic conditions of other regions. For example, the early weigela takes root well both in the Moscow region and in the Leningrad region.
But varieties such as profusely flowering, Korean or pleasant weigela require additional warming in the winter in these regions, since frosts negatively affect the plant, especially on young bushes.
Beautiful Bush Red Prince
For adult plants that grow on the site for at least three years, somewhat less maintenance is required, as they are more winter-hardy. In winter, in order to avoid breakage of branches, it is periodically required to shake off snow from them, especially during a snowfall.
From time to time (not every year) bushes suffer from pest or disease damage. This affects the growth of shoots, reduces winter hardiness and may cause a lack of flowering. To protect the plant from fungal diseases, a mixture of milk of lime and copper sulfate is used.
Topsin is used as a preventive measure against leaf spot or rust. A three percent solution is applied before the buds have blossomed, and a one percent solution during the growing season.
- In early September, the process of seed ripening begins, in November you can see how the boxes begin to crack, that's when the seeds should be collected.
- In order not to lose the seeds and so that they do not spill out onto the ground, you need to wrap the testicles with gauze back in September.
- To collect seeds, when the time comes, the gauze box is cut off very carefully.
- Next, in the room, you need to remove the layer of gauze and pour the seeds on paper, then dry them and then place them in a paper envelope.
- To avoid confusion, be sure to sign the envelope, indicate the name of the variety and the date of collection of seeds. After that, the seeds must be sent to a dark and dry place where they will be stored until spring.
- Please note that seeds can be stored for no more than one to two years. After this time, the seeds lose their germination.
- Weigela, like other plants, is susceptible to various diseases and can be affected by parasites. Spider mites, thrips, aphids or caterpillars can harm the plant.
- To combat these pests, there are many drugs, both biological and pesticides, which can be purchased in specialized stores.
- If you are not a fan of store-bought products and trust only folk methods of dealing with parasites, then infusions of bitter pepper, wormwood or garlic are considered a proven option, and laundry soap in the form of a solution is also used.
- Fungicides are used to protect the plant or eliminate existing powdery mildew or rust.
- As prophylactic agents, solutions of epin and zircon are used, with which weigela is processed when foliar top dressing is applied.
Weigela Blooming (variety ‘Minuet’)
Reasons for not blooming:
How to prepare shrubs for winter
In order for the winter period to pass favorably for the plant, it is important to follow the existing rules throughout the growing season. Wintering is most easily tolerated if favorable conditions have been created for the plant: it grows in a sunny and wind-sheltered place.
During the year, it is necessary to observe the watering regime in such a way that the soil is not too dry or excessively wet.
Preparing the bush for wintering
Before frost sets in, it is required to loosen the soil around the shrub, after which they spud it and create a mound no more than 20 cm in height. Even if there is no suitable shelter for wintering, these actions will help the plant to endure the cold.
All leaves that have fallen in autumn must be removed for the winter, as they are a favorable environment for the development of parasites and sources of fungal diseases.
Bush after winter
If you decide that it's time to start preparing the plant for winter, then for an easy wintering of the plant, you must complete all the preparatory measures. Particular attention should be paid to young shrubs, because they are most susceptible to frost, adult plants are already more resistant to temperature extremes.
Before hilling the bush and shelter, the near-stem part of the bush should be treated with a fungicide, this is necessary to prevent the development of fungal diseases. Also, to protect against fungus, shelter should be carried out exclusively in dry weather and prevent moisture from entering.
Basically, gardeners use one of two methods of insulation:
- This method, as the name implies, involves bending the branches.
- To do this, you first need to tie them, and lay a special material under the bush itself - spruce branches. Metal arcs are also used here, weigela branches will be fixed on them.
- We place a protective layer of spruce branches on top of the structure, which will act as a kind of blanket, and also covers it with a film on top to protect it from moisture.
- It is very important that the plant is reliably protected from moisture. Otherwise, there is a risk of fungal diseases.
- The first step is to install the frame, various boards or sticks are suitable for this, but here it is worth considering the height of the bush, it is convenient to use arcuate metal rods.
- We cover the built frame with lutrasil or spandbond. The void that is formed in the process is filled with spruce branches. To protect the structure from getting wet, it is covered with a film, which is fixed with cobblestones.
- As you can see, there is nothing complicated. It is worth noting that snow acts as a natural shelter, and if there is little snow in winter, then a warmer shelter should be provided.
- Having completed all the measures for wintering, in the spring you will admire a beautiful, healthy and flowering bush. Check out the video about the weigela ornamental shrub, and you will know everything you need to grow and care for the plant.
Pruning after flowering
Weigela: description, types and varieties, planting in open ground and proper plant care (60 Photos & Video) + Reviews
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