Plant Details

This old fashioned garden shrub has proven its worth for decades as an excellent landscape choice. The bare branches emerge with apple green leaves edged in creamy-white in early spring. As the foliage fully develops, the cream coloring deepens slightly to a soft and pale yellow. In early summer, soft rose-pink buds line the gracefully arching stems. These buds open to the palest blush creating an enchanting contrast against its variegated foliage. The variegation glows next to darker leaves in a part shade landscape. This medium sized shrub adds drama to perennial plantings by adding both height and a wonderfully contrasting foliage. Hummingbirds find the flowers irresistible! The flowers and foliage hold up surprisingly well when cut for the vase. The intense color is best admired when this weigela is used as a single specimen or in small groups. It mixes well with plants of lavender, blue-green, rose and red. Use this gem against the dark greens to make the variegation pop out in the garden.

This weigela is easy to grow. It prefers a moist to well-drained soil and will tolerate sandy or clay conditions. Plant it in a location with full sun to shade light or open. The flowering is more profuse with more sun. Once established it needs only occasional watering during dry weather to look its best. Very little pruning is required on younger plants. Once this Weigela is well established, older twiggy stems and weak shoots should be removed after flowering. This will encourage the vigorous new growth that provides the best show.

(Source: Great Plant Picks)