Okay, my friends at Plantly must somehow know I enjoy a glass of wine 🍷. But today, we are not talking about wine made of grapes. No, we will discuss the Spilled Wine Weigela, a romantic charm in the garden.
The deciduous shrub produces bright pink flowers in early spring to brighten any living space.
Plant Name: Weigela florida
Other Name: Spilled Wine Weigela
Plant Type: Deciduous shrubs
Native Areas: Asia
Light Requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Watering: Average
Fertilizer: Balanced liquid or slow-release fertilizer
Toxicity: Non-toxic
Temperature: Thrives in a range of climates
Propagation:
Growth: 2-3 feet tall and wide
Soil Type: Well-drained soil
USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-8
More About Spilled Wine Weigela
The Weigela florida is an old-time favorite in the landscape to plant below plants like rhododendrons, azaleas, or lilacs. These shrubs belong to the honeysuckle family, but it has taken a backseat for a while.
But the new cultivars like the Weigela florida Bokraspiwi, better known as the spilled wine weigela, have made it a hugely popular return to many ornamental landscapes. While Weigela shrubs are native to Asia, the spilled wine weigela is a cultivar.
The dense shrub can grow at a decent pace adding between 13-14 inches of height in a year. The best time to plant them is in spring or late fall before the last frost date. The shrub has vibrant green foliage that turns to dark purple leaves like wine.
The bright pink blooms are petite, and hummingbirds love the colorful pink flowers and butterflies. The shrub blooms in early summer and different varieties are available. Still, when you think of the name, the Weigela part comes from the German scientist Christian Ehrenfried Weigel.
While the florida part has nothing to do with the state but means many flowers seen on the plant. Some cultivars have vigorous growth and look perfect in foundation and mass plantings to form a hedge.
The spilled wine weigela are proven winners in foundation planting as it is deer resistant, and the deep purple foliage stands out. In contrast, the pink flowers display a spring bloom in foundation plantings that will attract pollinators to the garden.
The leaves also have a slightly serrated edge, making fabulous complementary plants in foundation plantings.
Spilled Wine Weigela Care Guide
The spilled wine weigela has a spreading habit of forming as a hedge or being used for edging beds. You can grow them in mixed borders with other outdoor plants, and it is an easy-to-care shrub.
The plant will reward you with dark purple leaves to spring flowering through to early summer.
The Best Soil For Spilled Wine Weigela
With their pink flowers, these proven winners can tolerate different soil types. But the bush thrives its best in a well-draining one.
Whether you grow your spilled wine weigela in a mass planting or any other spot, we recommend providing them with enough room for the spreading habit.
It also helps to perform a soil mixture on the acidic to alkaline side with a pH between 5.5 and 7.5.
Lighting Needs For The Bright Pink Flowers and The Purple Foliage
These proven winners prefer full sun 🌞with some partial shade in the afternoon in a landscape. If you live where it becomes sweltering, give your plants some dappled light but never in full shade, or you might not get the gorgeous deep purple foliage to spring flowering.
Watering Spilled Wine Weigela
The spilled wine weigela needs moist soil to become established. But once they mature, it rarely needs a lot of water. It is fairly drought-tolerant and can thrive on periodic rainfall.
Yet if you experience no rainfall and the summer is dry and warm, manual watering occasionally will be required.
Temperature and Humidity
Except for waiting for the frost to pass in early spring, the Weigela florida Bokraspiwi does not need certain temperatures. It can thrive in the growing zone 4-8, and neither does this low-maintenance plant need specific humidity levels.
Fertilizing For The Bright Pink Blooms
Whether planted in the growing zones 4-8 in small spaces or foundation plantings, your plant can benefit from feeds done once a year in early spring.
We recommend doing this before new growth starts to appear. Then, you can use a balanced liquid fertilizer or a slow-release fertilizer instead.
Doing this will allow the very dark purple leaves to stand out and give you dark pink flowers in the growing season.
Pruning to Get a Spring Bloom
Pruning your Weigela florida is not needed if you want to keep your plants in a natural form. But if you keep your plant suitable for smaller spaces, a little pruning helps.
The best time to do this is after the spring bloom when the flowers fade.
The reason is that your plant blooms on the old wood, and when pruned off before it blooms, you will wait longer for the flowers to develop.
It also helps to do deadheading of flowers to ensure a re-bloom.
Potting Silled Wine
If you decide to grow your Weigela florida in a pot, we recommend keeping an eye on the top few inches when planting. As soon as it dries out, then water your potted plants. Keep it in full sun with partial shade indoors or growing outside.
You will only need to repot your plant when it becomes root bound.
Propagation of Weigela Florida
The best way to propagate your spilled wine 🍷 is through stem cuttings. You can take a 12-inch cutting below a pair of leaves before the early spring bloom time. Then dip the cut end into a rooting hormone and place it in a well-draining potting medium in a pot or the ground.
Keep the soil moist and provide your cutting with part sun until a root ball forms.
Spilled Wine Weigela Similar Plants
The proven winners you find in different varieties to grow in your garden.
Weigela florida Briant Rubidor
The plant grows green-yellow variegated leaves, and when spring bloom starts, it fills the garden with wine-red flowers. The shrub you can plant in growing zones 5-8.
Eyecatcher Weigela
The shrub sports variegated foliage and remains compact and suitable for small spaces. The flowers are deep red in late spring.
Ghost Weigela
The shrub has chartreuse foliage that starts pale, turning to a shiny yellow in early summer with deep red flowers.
Common Diseases and Pests
Compared to most plants, the spilled wine bush remains pest-free. But they can still become the home of scale, aphids, or spider mites. You can treat infestations with something like neem oil.
Another concern is root rot which can result from overwatering your plant.
Frequently Asked Questions
The spilled wine can grow up to three feet tall and wide, while there are cultivars like the classic wine or roses weigela that can grow taller.
No, it is not toxic to humans or pets and safe around the yard.
Two hardy species are available with Weigela Florida, one and the other the Weigela praecox.
Weigelas generally take a few years to establish themselves before they start blooming. If your plant is young, it might simply need more time to mature.
Whether you want to buy, sell, or simply reach out to other plant enthusiasts, Plantly is the right place to be!
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