Weigela

For some of our gardeners, a flowering shrub, which has the beautiful name "Weigela", has become a curiosity. This plant deserves to be given a place in the flower bed. This is due to both its origin and its appearance. If you have not yet seen how beautiful it is during flowering, see how the Weigela flowering shrub looks like in the photo below. There is no need to worry: planting in open soil and caring for shrubs do not present any particular difficulties.

Weigela is a member of the honeysuckle family. This plant looks like a shrub. It received its name in honor of the famous pharmacologist, chemist, botanist. We are talking about Christian Ehrenfried von Weigel. Under natural conditions, this plant can be found in such areas as: eastern and southeastern Asia, the island of Java, the Far East. Usually 10 varieties and 7 species are bred. These are deciduous shrubs, a distinctive feature of which is high decorative properties. Weigela not only looks spectacular, but does not require special care conditions. It breeds easily.

About popular types

On the Internet there are photos and descriptions of the Weigel shrub of the following species:

• Weigels of Middendorf. The bush, whose branches grow upwards, reaches 1.5 meters in height. Flowers that appear twice during the season are creamy white or yellowish. You can admire flowering for about 30 days. Plant shrubs alone or in groups.
• Weigela Alexandra. A rather tall shrub, in which the leaves are painted in burgundy shades, and the flowers are in pink tones. The Central Federal District is a place where this species grows well and blooms profusely.
• Weigela Nana variegates. The bush is classified as a hybrid. Outwardly, it looks like a dwarf shrub with rich foliage. In flowers collected in inflorescences, the color is raspberry or pale pink tones. The bush grows very slowly. It is usually used when rocky gardens need to be decorated.
• Weigela early. Shrub spreading, tall. Pink flowers are omitted. They delight with their flowering from May to June. Flowering lasts from 20 to 30 days. Usually a variety is needed when creating a hedge.
• Weigela blooming. This tall shrub has rich olive-colored leaves. Even in winter they do not fall off. Large tubular flowers are in inflorescences of 3-4 pieces. The flowers have two colors: in the center - white, along the edges - pink. In June, the flowering period begins.
• Weigela Korean. The shrub is considered medium-sized. Flowers resemble bells, collected in semi-umbrella inflorescences. Flowers. Those that have blossomed are white at first, and over time they become caramel in color. The bush begins to bloom in June. Flowering does not last long - from 15 to 20 days.
• Weigela profusely flowering. This bush is growing fast. It tends to grow up to three meters in height. Flowers drooping. At first, flowering “pleases the eye” with scarlet tones, gradually the petals turn into pale pink shades. Since May, the shrub pleases with spectacular flowering.

About the features of weigela

The main feature is that planting and care for weigela shrubs do not require deep knowledge or large labor costs.

The plant is moisture-loving, and it is desirable to plant it in the shade.Stolons do not appear in an upright bush. Petiolate, oppositely located leaf blades lack stipules, which are serrate. The second option is serrated. The bell-shaped or funnel-shaped flowers are approximately 5 cm long. The flowers may be in loose inflorescences, or they may be solitary. If we talk about color, then the flowers are: pink, cream, carmine-red, yellow and other shades. In this case, as a rule, the shades of flowers during the flowering period can change shades from pale to saturated. The fruits look like a double-winged box containing very small seeds.

Recommendations for planting and caring for Weigela shrubs

This shrub has established itself as unpretentious. But the owner of the site must be responsible for such moments as the choice of soil, place and timing of planting.

Place and dates

Weigela loves warmth very much. To ensure abundant and long flowering, it is necessary to choose an area where there is a lot of sun. There should not be "walking" winds.

It is advisable to plant a bush when early spring has come. If you plant a plant in the autumn, it will not be able to acquire a strong root system. And she needs to survive the winter period.

Rooting of three-year-old seedlings is better than others. They are planted so that the distance between them is about 3 meters.

The soil for the plant needs nutritious, light, air and water permeable. The soil mixture is prepared like this. Soddy soil, sand and humus are taken in a ratio of 1:2:2. Make a hole for planting, and lay the drainage. Its layer is 15 cm.

How to plant

“Due to the unpretentiousness in planting and care, the Weigela shrub is considered an undemanding plant”

1. You will need bushes for planting, which are from 3 to 5 years old. They have a good property - quickly take root. The owner of the site in a year will receive aesthetic pleasure, watching the beautiful flowering.
2. During planting, the roots, slowly, should be straightened, and distributed evenly throughout the planting hole.
3. The deepening of the root neck of the seedling is excluded. It should be above ground level.
4. After the seedling is installed in the planting hole, it must be covered with earth. Important! An air cushion cannot be made.
5. When the plant is planted, it is well watered, and the right amount of earth is added.
6. It is advisable to mulch the area near the bush. This will make weed control easier in the future. The presence of a layer of mulch will help retain moisture.

Due to its unpretentiousness in planting and care, the Weigela shrub is considered an undemanding plant.

How to care

Care in the spring

Even for a beginner, the process of caring for this culture will not seem difficult. Weigela needs watering only during the drought period. In the process of watering, do not use a lot of water. When the shrub has been mulched, then there is no need to water frequently. It will be necessary to regularly weed and loosen the soil. These works are carried out with care, for half a shovel. If this rule is not followed, the root system of the plant may be damaged.

The plant needs timely feeding. Experienced gardeners add compost and nitrophoska to the ground when they plant Weigela. Then, within 2 years, the plant will not need to be fed. Only in the third year, in March, it will be necessary to feed. To do this, mineral fertilizers such as diammophoska, ammophoska, Kemira-lux or some other fertilizer are applied to the soil. The main thing is that it contains the presence of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus. In the last days of May - the last days of June, the period of the appearance of buds begins. This is the time for the second feeding. To do this, take fertilizers containing phosphorus, superphosphate, potassium.Then the flowering will be plentiful and long. The branches will become stronger, which will enable the bush to survive the winter. The third top dressing is carried out in the autumn, when the soil is dug up. You will need wood ash (200 grams of top dressing per 1 sq.m.). For these purposes, "Kemira - autumn" is suitable. The instructions say what dosage you need to take. See how the Weigela flowering shrub looks like in the photo, if top dressing is carried out correctly.

Features of summer care

In summer, caring for Weigela is even easier than in spring. Only when necessary, water the plant. Mostly when it's hot outside. In the beds, weeds are systematically removed from young bushes and the earth is loosened.

Even in the summer, you need to feed the shrub using potassium-phosphorus fertilizers. They must be applied to the soil dry. After that, the land is watered abundantly. And gardeners do not pay more special attention to the plant. Both the care and planting of the Weigel shrub are simple and do not require complex instructions..

About the features of care in the autumn period

With the onset of autumn, when the flowering period comes to an end, Weigela begins to prepare for wintering. In order for it to withstand low temperatures and not die, it is necessary to carry out a set of measures. First, young, recently planted bushes are wrapped in thick paper (or other covering material). This will prevent the culture from dying in frost. An obligatory procedure is the mulching of trunk circles. Then, in winter, the plant will retain moisture and nutrients.

In addition, in the autumn you need to dig up the ground. During these actions, wood ash is introduced into the soil (200 grams are needed per 1 sq.m. of beds). This will provide Weigela with all the nutrients for the winter. There will be abundant blooms next year.

About flowering

This shrub pleases with spectacular flowering twice during the season. From the 15th of May, the first beautiful flowering is observed. Flowers are formed on the shoots of the previous year. In August, the second flowering occurs, and it lasts until September. This bloom is not as lush as spring. Flowers are formed on the branches of the current year. At the end of the article there is a photo of a flowering Weigel shrub.

About pruning rules

All shrubs are pruned by gardeners. This is a necessary procedure, and Weigela is no exception. Young shrubs are pruned only for the prevention of diseases. In March, gardeners cut those shoots that thicken the bush. Also remove branches damaged by low temperatures, diseased. For an adult Weigela, a “shaping” pruning is needed. It is carried out somewhere in July, when the first flowering has passed, when the young branches have not yet grown.

If formative pruning was not carried out in a timely manner, and new shoots began to grow, then it is better to do pruning next year.

Mature shrubs need rejuvenating pruning. It is held once every three years. All shoots that are more than 3 years old are cut off. Those that remain are cut off by 1/3. Sometimes it is necessary to prune all branches. After such pruning, the recovery period is painless for the plant.

About methods of reproduction

The shrub is propagated using seeds and cuttings. To obtain new varieties, it is necessary to use cuttings. Twice a season, before the buds bloom (in March), and at the beginning of summer (in June), seedlings are prepared for rooting:

• They take lignified branches, and cut cuttings from them, the length of which is up to 10 cm;
• In order for rooting to go quickly, each seedling must be held, for several minutes, in a solution of "Epin" and "Kornevin";
• Prepare the soil.Soddy soil is mixed with sand, in proportions of 1: 1. Install cuttings in the prepared soil;
• As soon as the gardener noticed that young leaves had formed on the seedlings, this is a signal of rooting;
• Cuttings that are rooted can be transplanted into nutrient soil;
• Young seedlings need watering and fertilizer;
• As soon as the shoot grows to a height of 5 cm, it must be pinched;
• If care is carried out in accordance with all the rules, by autumn the shrub will grow to 25 centimeters;
• When the stalk has grown, it must be transplanted into a pot, the volume of which is larger. Until the next autumn season, he must be looked after;
• As soon as 3 to 4 shoots have appeared, Weigela is ready to grow in a permanent place. So it can be transplanted.

A bush that was grown from petioles will bloom in 2 or 3 years.

Propagation using seeds is easy to do. But this process takes time and patience. The result of such work is a photo and description of the Weigel shrub, which were given at the beginning of the article. It is worth noting that hybrid varieties cannot be propagated in this way. In the new plant, the maternal traits will not be preserved.

About diseases and pests

As a rule, aphids and caterpillars love this shrub. They choose it as their habitat. When the heat lasts for a very long time, and there is a drought, Weigela becomes a home for spider mites and thrips. But by the beginning of the dry period, the first flowering of the plant stops. To get rid of harmful insects, experts advise using: nitrafen, rogor or keltan. These drugs harm the environment. Less harmful formulations have been developed to control pests. We are talking about insecticidal infusions. They are prepared using: wormwood, hot pepper, garlic. If the seedlings that have been planted begin to dry or get sick, it is possible that the larvae of the May beetle or the bear have settled in the root system. These pests could be in the soil when compost or humus was added to it during planting. To eliminate harmful insects, a bush is watered using a solution of karbofos or actars.

Among the most common shrub diseases are gray rot, rust, spotting. So that a fungal or bacterial disease does not disturb Weigela, it is treated with Bordeaux liquid (copper sulfate + lime milk). For prevention purposes, when leaves appear, the bush is treated with a 3% solution of Topsin.

Plant after flowering

Features of collecting seeds

The seed ripening period is September. And they begin to collect them when the boxes will crack. This process takes place in October. So that the seeds do not fall on the surface of the soil, in September they wrap 4-5 pieces of testes with gauze, and fix it on a branch. When it is clear that the box is ripe, it is carefully cut off and brought into the room. The gauze fabric is removed, and the seeds are poured onto newspapers. You need to let them dry. After that, a bag is made of paper, and seeds are poured into it. It is advisable to write on paper what date the seeds were collected, indicate the name of the plant, variety. The bag is placed in a place where it is dry and dark. Seeds are stored there until spring comes.

It is important not to forget that only within 1 to 2 years the seeds will retain good germination. And shrubs that were obtained from seeds will lack the varietal traits of the mother plant.

About wintering

When the leaf fall has come to an end (this is the end of October, the beginning of November), the near-trunk circle of the bush is covered with a layer of earth. The mound should have a height of 15-20 centimeters. Experienced gardeners recommend bending the branches to the ground surface and fixing them. Spunbond or roofing material is placed on the shrub.To prevent the wind from damaging the shelter, it must be pressed. Some gardeners do not bend the branches, but tie them using twine or rope. The main thing is to pull well.

Weigela needs to be fenced with a plastic or metal mesh. Dry fallen leaves fall asleep in the middle of such a structure. From above, the structure must be insulated. This requires a dense material.

About transferring

“The adult shrub of Weigela is experiencing a painful landing in a new place, and he will need care at least for the first time”

When a gardener needs to change the place where a shrub is grown, he needs to do everything carefully. It should be remembered that the adult Weigela shrub is experiencing a painful landing in a new place and it will need care at least for the first time. Therefore, a bush is transplanted in extreme cases. For example, when the owner of the site initially chose the wrong place, and it is impossible to improve the situation.

When is it best to repot a plant?

Experts advise replanting an adult culture in April (at the same time, cuttings are planted in open soil). By mid-spring, the soil is already gradually warming up, and the vegetative process has not yet begun. You should not transplant Weigela in the autumn. If you do this, the fragile root system of the plant will not have time to adapt to winter.

How to choose a place to prepare the ground

As for new plants, so for Weigela they select a place for planting. It should:

• Well illuminated by sunlight;
• Be windless;
• Maintain light, fertile soil.

As soon as autumn comes, they begin to prepare a place for Weigela. The culture will "be grateful" for the presence of slightly alkaline soil. This is why lime must be added to acidic soil. In a slightly acidic substrate, Weigel Middendorf will grow comfortably. When the need arises, peat is added to the soil. If slurries quickly lose moisture, peat and clay are added to them.

When problems arise with the soil (it is heavy, prone to waterlogging), it is advisable to dilute such soil with sand, brick chips, and fine gravel. Gardeners make drainage structures.

Manure or compost, complex mineral top dressings are used as fertilizer. First you need to mix all the components that are supposed to be introduced into the soil, and then scatter over the area, and dig a shovel onto the bayonet.

A low section can be corrected by making not very large embankments. A good design idea is to arrange an alpine slide.

With the onset of the spring period, 2 weeks before planting, holes are prepared.

About the rules of transplantation in the spring

The methods of transplanting an adult crop and planting a seedling in open soil are almost the same. It is necessary to start preparing a nutrient soil mixture. Dig and drain holes for planting. Bury, water, mulch the planted Weigela.

A bush transplant has the following features:

1. With the onset of spring, it is necessary to dig a bush around the perimeter. It is important to do everything carefully so that the root system is not damaged. Take out a shrub with a clod of earth.
2. A bush is placed in the hole so that the root neck is at the same level as in the previous place.
3. Once the transplant is completed, you need to get rid of damaged, old and dry branches. They should be cut off.

The older the plant, the more carefully it must be handled during the transplant process.

How Weigela is used in landscape decor

Gardeners can plant this plant singly. The bush is planted both in the foreground and in the middle.The culture looks spectacular in mixed compositions if it grows near other bushes.

Very often, Japanese quince, cotoneaster, Japanese spirea, barberry, forsythia are planted next to Weigela.

If ornamental evergreen trees grow on the site, high varieties are planted next to them. Low-growing varieties need to allocate a place next to rocky gardens and flowers. For beginners in gardening, we recommend choosing a Weigel shrub variety according to the photo and description.

Recommendations for flower growers

To become the owner of a shrub that blooms beautifully, one planting is not enough. In order for flowering to be plentiful and long, it is necessary to systematically care for Weigela, and take note of the advice of experienced gardeners.

1. During the period of winter cold, shoots not covered with snow freeze. So, for landing Weigela, you need to choose a place where there will be a lot of snowdrifts.
2. When the snowfalls have passed, and with the onset of spring, the branches from the snow must be carefully released so as not to break them.
3. For preventive purposes (so that Weigela does not get sick), the shrub is treated with infusion. It is made using onion peel, garlic, potato tops, red pepper. It is advisable to spray the bushes in the evening.

Conclusion

Weigela is a flowering culture that will not require much attention from its owner. She is considered unpretentious, because planting and caring for Weigela shrubs do not require special skills and strength.

The decorative qualities of Weigela can surprise the "experienced" grower. Gardeners living in different regions of the country prefer this plant due to its great application in landscape design. If you follow all the rules of cultivation, and take good care of the culture, flowering will be bright and plentiful. Weigela will be able to delight with its beauty for several decades, and the owner of the site will be proud of this shrub.

 

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