Weigela is a beautifully flowering shrub of the honeysuckle family, reaching a height of up to 1.5 m. It can become an adornment of any garden and a source of pride for its owner! The plant is unpretentious in care, and blooms magnificently with large flowers in the form of bells that exude a delicate aroma. Moreover, its flowering occurs 2 times a year - in spring and at the end of summer.

This plant has a lot of colors - there are yellow, cream, purple and pink bells. It is interesting that the buds that are just opening are at first pale in color, and then gradually become brighter and richer. There are 15 varieties of weigela, and in our country only 3 of them have taken root - early, pleasant and Middendorf. Moreover, some varieties of plants begin to bloom even before the appearance of foliage, while an unusual picture of branches that are strewn with flowers opens up.

By the way, the foliage of this plant is also decorative. The leaves have a rich green tint. Or they can be lighter, with white stains and adorn the shrub from May until late autumn. The homeland of wild weigela is Primorye and the Far East. The features that nature has awarded this plant help it adapt to the climate of central Russia. But many varieties of plants do not tolerate winter low air temperatures. But frost-resistant species develop well and bloom at the end of cold winters.

Gardeners often use this shrub to create interesting compositions in combination with undersized or vice versa - tall plants and shrubs. Dwarf varieties of weigela look great on alpine slides and along the edge of the lawn.

Before planting a plant, first of all, you need to decide on the seat itself, and you need to choose it based on some features. Weigela loves the light and in the first years of her life she is very susceptible to frost. Therefore, a site for it is also needed one where high snow cover will remain in winter. The shrub will feel great near a wall or tall plants that will protect it from gusts of wind.

If the plants are planted in the shade, then you can not expect lush flowering, and the shade of the flowers will be paler than usual. Weigela will take root better if it is planted between May and mid-June; in autumn, the plant is planted much less frequently. In central Russia, the period of active vegetation is short. That is why the more time the plant has to develop powerful roots, the easier it will endure the winter.

Cuttings for planting can be prepared in the fall or use green branches of the bush, starting in June. This plant does not like acidic soil, so it will be good to add lime to the soil, but this must be done in advance, before planting the cuttings. Weigela also does not tolerate drought, so watering should be regular throughout the growing season, and it is also the key to good growth and development of the shrub.

If there is a need to transplant an adult plant, then the size of the planting hole will directly depend on the size of the bush. Its depth should be such that the roots can fit in it without bending. It is not recommended to deepen the root neck. Drainage should be poured at the bottom of the hole - expanded clay or broken brick, and after a mixture of sand and humus in a ratio of 1 to 3, then the soil itself goes and everything is mixed. In the center of the hole, it is necessary to make a low mound, on the sides of which the root system should subsequently be decomposed. After everything is covered with soil, compacted and spilled well.

In the spring and summer periods of the year, weigela care consists of pruning, watering and feeding the plant. If in the spring weigela is fed with complex nitrogen-potassium fertilizers, this will help it begin to grow actively. In the middle of summer, it is better to use phosphate fertilizers.

The shrub responds well to regular watering and does not tolerate drying out of the soil. To prevent this, it is necessary to mulch the soil around the bush with wood chips, humus or wood chips. It is also important to prepare the plant for wintering in the fall. After all, especially in the first years of growth, weigela does not tolerate autumn cold and winter frosts. It is best to cover the plant with straw, covering material or spruce branches in the month of November. If the bush is low, then it can be completely closed. Taller individuals should be tied in a bundle and covered with a bottom, and spruce branches or straw should be scattered around it.

With age, this shrub begins to be less and less afraid of frost, and after 3-4 years after planting, it will no longer need to be covered.

Weigela: propagation by cuttings

Weigela propagation using cuttings is the most popular method. Wood cuttings are a rather long method; flowering will take about 5-6 years. And this plant will grow and develop best if it is planted with green cuttings. Cuttings are carried out before the kidneys are activated, approximately in the month of April-May. It is necessary to make a straight cut, which will cut off 10 cm of the cutting. Then it should be treated with a growth stimulant, for example, heteroauxin, and then placed in a warm dark room for 12 hours. Next, it will need to be planted to a depth of 0.5 cm in a mixture of peat and sand so that the plant takes root, sprinkle everything on top with sand and cover with foil. Cuttings should be planted at a permanent place of growth only after one and a half years. If everything goes well, then in the 3rd year, the bush will already begin to bloom.

Weigela pruning after flowering: basic principles

The girth of the crown of the weigela is quite overall, but at the same time the plant is very neat. Its crown grows, albeit actively, but in the correct form and evenly, therefore, it is not necessary to deal with molding pruning.
In general, the plant will need to be cut 2 times in 1 season. 1st - in the spring, when the leaves begin to open. At this point, it must be rid of dead and dried shoots. The 2nd pruning should be done after flowering, and in its process, experienced gardeners recommend cutting down old branches that are 2-3 years old. This should be done to rejuvenate the plant, then the shoots of the shrub will be flexible and aesthetic.

Weigela: plant photo

Weigela is perfect for decorating any garden plot. By following the simple rules of planting and caring for this plant, you can achieve its rapid growth and lush flowering already 3 years after being placed in the open field!

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Weigela: characteristics and 5 conditions for proper care

Weigela is a deciduous shrub belonging to the Honeysuckle family. To date, there are 15 species. Which of them grow in our latitudes and what is remarkable about the plant - I will tell about this.

Characteristics

Views differ depending on the following parameters:

Bush height.
Bloom duration.
The color scheme of inflorescences.

The bush has an erect stem, reaching a height of up to one and a half meters. Some species can stretch up to three meters. The leaves are long with sharp ends and bright veins of a darker color over the entire surface.

The color of the leaves can be light green, dark green, red. The plant comes from the Far East.

Weigela blooms with rather large flowers. The flowers are funnel-shaped or tubular. Shades are predominantly represented by white, cream, pink and red scales.

Inflorescences can be single and collected in small groups. Under favorable conditions of detention, as well as as a result of warm autumn, re-flowering occurs.

However, the re-flowering will not be plentiful, but will remain just as excellent. Weigela is an excellent decoration for any garden area. Flowering culture can be planted in groups and single bushes.

Varieties of garden shrubs

Varieties are numerous:

Photo	Description
	hybrid This species is up to one and a half meters tall. The bush is compact. It can be grown in small areas. It goes well with perennial and annual plantings.
	Maksimovich The height of the shrub does not exceed 2 meters. The variety originated in Japan. Inflorescences in the form of yellow bells. Flowering period: from May to June.
	Middendorf Blooms twice a year. Quite often there are bushes in the territory of coniferous forests. An ornamental bush is great for group planting. Flowers yellowish.
	Korean The variety differs in height, which sometimes reaches 5 meters. The leaves have an attractive glossy surface on the outside and hairy underneath. It blooms with pale pink or burgundy flowers. Flowering can last up to two months.
	Pleasant Flowering occurs twice per season. The bush has a height of one to two meters. Seeds of this variety are practically not able to ripen.
	profusely blooming First appeared in Japan. The height of the bush is up to three meters, on which numerous inflorescences are formed. Flowers are dark red.
	blooming Differs in plentiful and magnificent blossoming. There are numerous subspecies. Leaves can be green and burgundy. Flowers have light and dark scales.
	Early The height of the bush does not exceed one and a half meters. Has numerous inflorescences of bright pink flowers.
	Sadovaya Miniature variety, the height of which does not exceed 1 meter. Flowers can be cream, pink and white.
	Japanese A miniature variety with a bush height of up to 1 meter. Inflorescences are collected in large groups and differ in purple scales.

Self content

Weigela is a rather unpretentious plant that can grow both in the shade and in the sun. Care consists in timely watering, fertilization, loosening and the division process.

Condition 1. Division of garden culture

Plant propagation is carried out in three ways:

Photo	Description
	Method 1. Seeds It is necessary to use exclusively fresh seeds, as weigela instantly loses its ability to germinate. Use fertile soil containing sand and soil. Before planting the seeds, you need to shed them. You can sprinkle seeds only with dry sand. The container with seeds is covered with transparent glass or a bag. Spraying is carried out strictly from a spray bottle.
	Method 2. Cuttings This method is simple and highly effective. The method is great for novice gardeners. You can get several good and healthy young plants at once. If necessary, you can immediately select the mother bush. Better weigela breeds in early spring. You can root young bushes in a greenhouse or in a flower pot.
	Method 3. Layering This breeding method is suitable only for the spring period. First of all, you need to find a young and healthy branch, which is located as close as possible to the ground. The branch is bent and slightly trimmed. Root and crushed activated carbon should be placed in the incision. Weigela in the process of division must be protected from diseases and pests, it is important to protect it from them. The sprig is sprinkled with earth and fixed with metal fasteners. Exactly one year later, the branch is cut off from the mother bush and planted in a permanent place.

Condition 2. Features of cultivation in open ground

Weigela is an unpretentious ornamental plant that fits perfectly into any landscape design.

Landing in the ground is carried out at the end of May. It is necessary to prepare a hole measuring 50 by 50 cm. Drainage is placed at the bottom:

Specialized drainage from the store.
Broken brick.
Gravel.
Construction waste without chemical components.

The root system is slightly straightened, especially with those bushes that were purchased in containers. After planting, the weigela is watered with a small amount of water, after which it remains dormant for at least 24 hours.

In order for the soil for garden crops to turn out fertile, it is necessary to mix the main components with peat and compost.

Condition 3. Fertilization

Weigela cannot exist without fertilizers. Top dressing helps the culture acquire lush foliage and abundant flowering. The best fertilizers are:

Nitrogen.
Phosphoric.
Potash.
Mineral.
Organic.

Top dressing is carried out at least twice a year: in spring and autumn. Autumn top dressing allows you to nourish the bush with useful trace elements that will promote the growth of young shoots and inflorescences. Spring top dressing will allow the bush to grow abundant foliage.

Weigela needs annual pruning, which is carried out in early or mid-summer. At this stage, all dried and broken branches are cut. If you skip this period, then the weigela will not get the proper appearance.

It is also necessary to cut off faded inflorescences, this will stimulate growth and the appearance of new buds. Anti-aging pruning is carried out once, every three years. It is important to cut off all old branches.

Condition 4. Watering and winter preparation

Abundant watering is necessary for the shrub in the spring. Timely mulching will contribute to the necessary retention of moisture in the soil.

After weigela fades, the amount of watering is reduced several times. Remember that stagnant water at the root system will lead to the death of the bush.

Early preparation for wintering will avoid the death of plants. The younger the weigela, the more vulnerable it will endure the winter.

Ornamental shrubs need to be covered with foliage or dry sawdust for the winter. As a rule, this method allows you to save the root, not damaged by frost, and all frozen branches are cut off in the spring.

Condition 5. Pests and dangerous diseases

Weigela, like all horticultural crops, is subject to infections, which are more often caused by pests and insects, such as:

Caterpillars.
Spider mite.
Thrips.

To combat pests and diseases, you can use chemical and folk remedies. Among folk remedies, the following are considered quite effective: wormwood, bitter pepper and garlic infusion. A solution of laundry soap is also considered effective.

Conclusion

Weigela is an ornamental plant that is great for any garden area. The bush can have a height of 50 cm to three meters. The color scheme of inflorescences depends on the variety. Weigela is distinguished by its unpretentiousness, it tolerates even a dry period well.

The video in this article will clearly show how to care for the plant. If you have questions - ask them in the comments.

February 18, 2018

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Weigela is a shrub from the honeysuckle family, originating from Southeast Asia.

It is named after the German botanist von Weigel and has been used in landscape design since the end of the century before last.

Weigela is a shrub from the honeysuckle family, originating from Southeast Asia.

Frost-resistant varieties of weigela

The height of the weigela bush in the middle lane reaches one and a half meters. Basically it depends on the type of plant. In total, there are one and a half dozen varieties of weigela, which are further subdivided into varieties. Not all types of shrubs have taken root well in the middle lane. The following varieties are considered the most frost-resistant.

Varieties of weigela (video)

Weigel Middendorf

Tall shrub blooms in May-June with large cream flowers with orange specks. At the beginning of autumn, re-flowering occurs, although not as lush as spring. In nature, it grows in cedar and mixed forests in Primorye, Sakhalin, China and Japan, alone or forming dense thickets. Likes sunny places near water bodies. The leaves are oblong, ovoid. Small winged seeds are placed in an elongated box.

Weigel Maksimovich

This is a shrub of one and a half meters in height with eight-centimeter oblong, fleecy leaves with short petioles. The flowers are bell-shaped, pale yellow, up to four centimeters in size, arranged in pairs on short branches. Flowering is observed in late spring-early summer. It is scarce, few fruits appear. Their ripening occurs in mid-autumn, seeds with wings are in boxes. In autumn, the color of the leaves changes to yellow-red. Weigela does not drop leaves for the winter.

Weigel Middendorf

profusely blooming

It comes from the mountainous regions of Japan, grows to a height of three meters. The leaves are oblong, large, pubescent below and on petioles. Three-centimeter flowers are dark red at first, then brighten, they are also pubescent. Shrub growing fast, needs moisture and fertile soil. Thanks to the height of the curved and beautifully flowering branches, it looks spectacular next to the trees and on the borders of the paths.

Pleasant

Low bushes with bright green leaves settle in cedar forests, in the highlands in Primorye, on Sakhalin. In mid-September and the color changes, and in October they fall off. Thanks to the graceful coloring of funnel-shaped flowers - purple on the outside and soft pink on the inside - this species is considered the most attractive of all. The first flowering occurs in May-June, and the second - at the end of summer. Looks great on lawns and in combination with coniferous and deciduous shrubs.

Weigela profusely flowering

Early

It grows in China, in the north of Korea, in the south of the Ussuri forests. Light-loving, spreading shrub with dense foliage and gray or reddish bark grows up to two meters in height. Seven-centimeter bright green leaves in autumn acquire a brown-yellow or ocher color. Bright pink flowers bloom profusely and have an original shape. The plant easily survives a transplant, not demanding on the composition of the soil, looks spectacular in hedges, does not require a haircut. But in cold winters it needs to be covered.

Sadovaya

A low shrub native to Japanese forests. The leaves are large, sitting on short legs. Flowers tricolor, numerous, tubular-bell-shaped. The first wave of flowering occurs at the end of May, and the second - in July. Leaf color changes in October but the plant does not always manage to shed them before the cold weather. Frost resistance and drought resistance of the plant is more pronounced in mature specimens. Likes bright sun, grows singly or in small groups. There are varieties with white flowers.

Weigela early

blooming

The homeland of the plant is Primorye, Japan and northern China. This is a three-meter shrub with red-brown or gray shoots. It can grow in the sun and in the shade, but in the latter case, the leaves lose their decorative color. In the Moscow region, one cannot do without shelter for the winter. When frozen, it is easily restored and even blooms in the first season, albeit late. Needs moist, fertile soils with a slightly acidic reaction. Garden forms are bred with brown-red leaves and dark pink, yellow in the middle, flowers. There are also varieties with small white, later turning pink, flowers. White dots are clearly visible on their leaves.

Features of caring for weigela in the fall

Weigela, although not a very easy to care for perennial plant, but often in the conditions of the Moscow region can often winter even without shelter. Preparing an ornamental shrub for winter comes down to simple activities.

Watering mode

Weigela does not tolerate stagnant moisture, does not grow in flooded areas without drainage. As a rule, in conditions of rainy autumn, the plant does not need watering. Only with excessively dry soil, the shrub is watered with settled warm water. Watering is stopped in the second half of September.

How to cut weigela after flowering (video)

Feeding weigela in autumn

In autumn, the third top dressing of weigela is carried out. Simultaneously with digging, potash fertilizers are applied (Kemira-autumn), soil enrichment with ash in the amount of 200 grams per square meter of land is also practiced. An alternative option for autumn top dressing of the area under the weigela is as follows: up to 4 kg of humus or compost, 50 grams of superphosphate and 30 grams of potassium sulfate per square meter of area.

Purpose and features of autumn pruning weigela

Shrub cutting is mainly done in the spring. Formative pruning of adult bushes should be carried out in the summer before the start of the second flowering weigela. It takes place on the shoots of the current year. Therefore, they must have time to grow before flowering.

Bushes from three to four years of age need rejuvenation. Do it after the second flowering. At the same time, adult branches are removed, and young ones are cut by a third. Sometimes all shoots are cut every few years. Pruning sites are treated with garden pitch. After this procedure, the shrub tolerates wintering better and recovers in spring.

Weigela pruning is mainly done in the spring.

Weigela shelter as the main way to prepare for winter

After transplanting to a new place, a young shrub needs shelter for the winter. A full-fledged shelter may be an option in which several sticks are dug around the circumference of the bush and tied. This design is the basis, which is wrapped with a dense non-woven covering material. All this is compacted with spruce branches and dry leaves, then strengthened with a film.

It is especially important to provide the bush with such protection before a snowless winter. Otherwise, it may break. After that, new branches will appear in the spring, but you will not have to wait for flowering this year. Without shelter, the plant may die in cold winter. It is imperative to remove snow from the surface of shelters during the thaw and in spring.

With age, the frost resistance of bushes increases. A 3-5-year-old bush growing in one place without a transplant needs less care than a young one. Even when frozen, wrapped plants recover faster. This applies even to non-frost-resistant varieties of weigela. And bushes more resistant to cold during wintering during heavy snowfalls can suffer without shelter due to the fragility of the shoots.

After transplanting to a new place, a young shrub needs shelter for the winter

About propagation of weigela cuttings in autumn

Weigels begin harvesting cuttings for propagation at the end of summer. For cuttings, branches about a centimeter thick are suitable, reaching a length of up to two tens of centimeters. After pruning, the lower leaves are removed from them and kept in a growth stimulator.
Until spring, the cuttings are placed in the ground. There is no need to dig holes in the garden for them. It is better to choose a shaded place for planting cuttings. Soil preparation begins with the introduction of humus. If the soil is acidic, then lime is added to the bed.
The cuttings are placed to a depth of 10 cm, leaving a distance of up to a quarter of a meter between neighboring plants, the soil is compacted and watered.
A year later, the cuttings are transplanted half as often. And after a couple of years they are added dropwise at an angle, completely covering the roots and part of the crown with earth, so that the wintering goes well. Before this, a landing pit with a volume of 50 by 50 cm is prepared, it is covered with the same amount of humus and sand and half the amount of soddy land. It is also possible to fertilize the soil with two buckets of compost and 100 grams of nitrophoska.

Bushes are planted at a distance of two meters from each other, if they are high varieties of shrubs and half as often if they are low. The root neck of the weigela should be at ground level when planting. After the land shrinks as a result of irrigation, it will lower by a couple of centimeters, which is necessary for the successful wintering of the shrub.

How to care for weigela (video)

The eastern beauty weigela has taken root well in the Moscow region. Subject to certain rules of care, including autumn care, this beautiful ornamental shrub tolerates wintering well. And then it is covered twice in a season with beautiful delicate, bright flowers.

The peculiarity of this beautiful shrub is that it is very thermophilic and, accordingly, does not favor cold winters. Initially, the plant came to us from East Asia and the south of the Far East, where the climate is much milder. There are a considerable number of subspecies of the plant of the genus Weigela. Among the most tenacious, capable of growing even on the territory of Russia, - early Weigela, Weigela Middendorf and Weigela blooming.

Very beautiful and often in demand among landowners and shrubs. eigel hybrid. They usually have fairly large inflorescences. It is much more difficult to grow heat-loving varieties such as Korean Weigela, garden and Japanese. However, even if the climate of your region clearly does not correspond to the climate of the southern latitudes, you can still try to grow this shrub in the garden.

At the same time, it is worth taking into account not only the features of growing the type of weigela you bought, but also the presence of snow, wind, frost and temperature changes in winter. In different regions, you need to take care of this plant in different ways. For example, on the Crimean Peninsula, weigela can survive without additional shelter; it is also possible to cover the plant less in the southern regions of Russia.

If you have warm winters, then the process of preparing the weigela for winter will consist in hilling the bushes and mulching the soil - the trunk circle must be closed with either peat or compost. Residents of regions with snowy winters do not need to be smart - just use this wonderful and natural insulation to save your shrubs. It is snow that will help the weigel not to die even at low temperatures.

If there is no snow, or there is little of it, then you will need to make a special above-ground shelter for your favorite flower for the winter. This design is a small frame that closes on top of a special one. If it was not possible to completely close the bush, then you can also use spruce branches, as well as old dry foliage, in addition to everything. The frame can be wrapped with plastic wrap or agrofibre, as in the photo.

A less costly method of shelter is often used by growers. As with, you can tie the weigela branches and bend them to the ground. So that the branches do not freeze and break, use spruce branches, burlap, or leaves as bedding material. From above, you can close the plant with an old roofing material or slate sheets.

At the end, fill this simple structure with another layer of dry leaves or spruce branches. Some gardeners play it safe and cover the top layer of foliage with plastic wrap. So that it does not fly away, its edges are pressed with stones or sprinkled with earth.

It is imperative that all winterization of the plant is carried out in dry weather. If you do the work during the rainy season, you run the risk of seriously harming the shrub - damp earth will become a source of fungal diseases, branches can rot and rot. You can not cover in this way and bushes that are in the lowlands, where rain or melt water is collected.

Features of growing weigela

In the first year after planting, we recommend that even with a warm winter, weigela shelter for the winter, which will help you with photos and videos. Like many plants, this shrub becomes more hardy over the years. Already in the third year of life, your weigela may not become frost-resistant, but it is no longer afraid of small frosts. Keep in mind that if the plant freezes, you should not wait for a large number of inflorescences in the summer. In such cases, many gardeners even cut off the buds so that the bush directs all its forces to the growth of new shoots.

A lot depends on the landing site - if it is sunny and protected from the wind, and the soil is loose and fertile, then the bush will have a much better chance of surviving in winter. Watering in the case of weigela should be moderate enough. It is not worth pouring the soil, as well as overdrying.

Feeding with nitrogen fertilizers bush begin in the spring. Weigela needs nitrogen until mid-summer. Already at the beginning of autumn, pay attention to phosphorus-potassium top dressing - they will help the plant with the ripening of shoots.

Closer to cold weather, the soil around the bushes must be loosened. Hilling will not hurt either - the level of earth cover should be raised by about 15–20 centimeters. As for mulching, peat or compost is perfect for this purpose, which cover the trunk circle.

In autumn, it is better to remove fallen leaves - they can become a source of fungal diseases, as well as a refuge for pests. If the weigela did not throw off the foliage before the onset of cold weather, then the shelter for the winter should be carried out with it, as in the video. Don't forget to trim the bush. It should be done in the summer, even before flowering. But in the fall, before the cold weather, the branches should not be shortened - this can adversely affect flowering in the next season.

Weigela is a flowering perennial shrub valued for its spring and summer ornamental flowers. Their aroma resembles the smell of honeysuckle. Often planted in the form of hedges, these plants do not require special care, but they still need to be taken care of. Preparing the weigela for winter will help her survive the cold with minimal damage.

Frost-resistant varieties

Weigela plant (Latin name Weigela) is a genus of deciduous shrubs belonging to the honeysuckle family. In botany, 15 varieties of weigela are known. Habitat - Asia (east and southeast).

In the Russian Federation, this plant is often found in Primorsky Krai. Three of its varieties grow there: early weigela (Weigela praecox), Middendorf weigela (Weigela middendorffiana) and pleasant weigela (Weigela suavis).

The bush blooms twice a year - from the second decade of May to June 15-20 and from August 20 to the first days of October. At this time, the plant is strewn with funnel-shaped flowers. Secondary flowering is not as beautiful as in spring or June, when the branches are completely covered with flowers of all shades from white to crimson.

Video: varieties and types of weigela The color of the newly blossomed petals is lighter than that of those beginning to wither. For example, a white flower, withering, becomes pink or purple.

Important! The gardener needs to remember that even a weigel with good frost resistance should, if possible, be covered from winter frosts. If a lot of snow falls in the growing region in winter, the plant can be covered with snow (on top of the branches laid on the ground and soil in the root zone).

The most frost-resistant varieties of weigela

Residents of the northern regions, where winter is harsh, should first of all pay attention to such a characteristic of weigela varieties as the ability to endure cold.

- a plant up to one and a half meters tall, with straight growing stems. The leaves are green, slightly hairy. The flowers are yellow, with a more brightly colored center, have the appearance of an inverted bell, grow singly and collected in bunches of 2-6 flowers on a common stem. The plant blooms twice, in spring and autumn. Flowering continues for thirty days. Frost resistance up to -15°С.
- shrub up to 1 meter high. The leaves are elliptical or ovate, 5 to 10 cm long, the shape of the leaf is serrated, pointed towards the apex. The leaves are slightly hairy to the touch. Funnel-shaped flowers, flower length 2-3 cm, carmine color. The view is very decorative and highly valued by gardeners, but requires little winter shelter, as the branches can suffer already at frosts of -13-15 ° C.
Did you know? Weigela shrubs are often used in landscape design to create decorative flowering hedges. They not only decorate the garden, but also create a dense fence from unwanted visitors. Weigela has a lush bush and strong branches, which, growing, are intertwined with those growing in the neighborhood.plants and form almost impenetrable thickets.
- shrub grows in the Far East. The height of the shoots is up to 1.3 m. The leaves are elongated, green, smooth on top, the lower leaf plate is fleecy to the touch. The flowers are funnel-shaped, burgundy on the outside and light pink on the inside. Flowers are located on the side branches. The flower size is from 2 to 5 cm. The plant blooms from May 15-20 to mid-summer, closer to autumn, secondary flowering occurs - from August 15-20 to early October. The species has good frost resistance.
- the variety is widely distributed in the Ussuri region, in China and on the Korean Peninsula. The height of the bush is up to 1.5 m, the width of the shrub reaches two meters. The flowers are extremely decorative, growing singly or in bunches of two or three flowers. Flowering occurs on short young branches. The color of the flowers is pink on the outside and burgundy on the inside, sometimes there is a variety with a creamy center. Blooms from late May to June for a month. Widely used in landscape design for single or group planting, also used to create hedges. Frost resistance up to -15°С.
Did you know? The name weigela (weigela) is given to the shrub in honor of the German professor of chemistry and botany, Christian Ehrenfried von Weigel (1748-1831).
- height 1.5 m. Fleecy leaf, 4-8 cm, elongated, pointed to the tip. Bell-shaped flowers up to 3.5 cm, painted in light yellow and located on short branches. In the European climate, weigela Maksimovich blooms from May 15 to June 15-20. It can be grown as a covering and non-covering crop. Without shelter, it can tolerate cold down to -10 ° C.
Weigela blooming (Florida)- plant height up to 3 m, width 3.5 m. Bright green leaf cover keeps on branches for a long time and crumbles only with the arrival of the first frosts. It blooms in large bells (2.5-3 cm), the flowers are beetroot at the edges and cream or white inside. The inflorescences are clustered on short side branches. Blooms by May 30 or early June. Blooming weigela has varieties with unusual multi-colored foliage. Frost resistance is average.

Popular varieties

Among the large varietal diversity of weigela, several frost-resistant or relatively frost-resistant varieties stand out, especially loved by gardeners:

Preparing for winter

Even frost-resistant varieties need help and care to overwinter without problems.

Watering

The gardener should not allow his plants to endure the cold with a dry root system. In most regions of the country, there is enough rain in the autumn so that watering at the end of the warm season is not necessary, but if there is not enough rainfall, good soil moisture before it freezes is simply necessary, especially for shrubs planted in the same year.

Although weigela is a shrub whose leaves fall in autumn, its roots continue to function for some more time. Therefore, it is important to maintain good root growth throughout the fall, especially if the weigela bush is newly planted.

At this time, you need to periodically water the shrub, supplying water to the roots whenever the soil seems parched to the touch. In addition, moist soil tends to stay warm and unfrozen longer than dry soil, so watering in the fall helps keep the soil warm.
Water wisely. If it often rains, then the bush does not need to be watered. If the weather is dry, the plant should be watered weekly throughout the autumn, until frost or snow falls.

Drip irrigation for weigela

Drip irrigation is a good way to provide shrubs with a slow supply of a few liters of water per week.

The gardener can purchase it, or make it yourself:

Take a plastic bucket with a volume of 5 liters.
At the bottom of the bucket, a hole with a diameter of 2-3 mm is made (using a drill or a nail heated on fire).
An irrigation device (home-made or store-bought) is placed in the area of \u200b\u200bthe root zone of a shrub.
Pour in 5 liters of water.

Video: how to make drip irrigation with your own hands

Fertilizer

Gardeners know that without regular fertilization, ornamental shrubs will not bloom.

To feed the plant in the middle of winter or early spring, do the following:

Close up with a shovel or chopper in the root soil the old, old mulch.
Add a thick layer of organic compost on top.
Fertilizer should cover the root zone of the bush with a diameter of 1 meter.

Mulch

Adding a 10-15cm layer of organic mulch (straw or shredded bark) in the fall helps keep the soil moist and keeps the roots growing longer.

In northern areas, mulch also protects the root system from freeze and thaw cycles that cause the ground to expand and contract. These cycles can squeeze the roots out of the ground in the cold or damage them mechanically (by squeezing).

Keep the compost in the root zone of the shrub and keep the soil under the plant moist by mulching it with a 5 or 7 cm layer of wood chips on top of the compost. This woody mulch will help prevent weeds from growing under shrubs. But, at the same time, the mulch should not be allowed to come into contact with the bark of the shrub, as this can contribute to the decay of the weigela.

Pruning for the winter

Avoid pre-winter and winter pruning. In cold climates, pruning is best left until spring. By leaving the shrub intact, the grower provides additional protection for the lowest but most important buds on the plant.

Winter pruning weakens the plant, making it vulnerable to sub-zero temperatures. Therefore, experienced gardeners try to transfer autumn or winter pruning to spring, when a plant injured by pruning quickly recovers and begins to actively grow young branches.

In addition, frozen or dead branches may appear on the overwintered shrub, which in the spring will be visible to the naked eye - this is what the gardener will remove with the help of a pruner in the first place.

Pest protection

Insects are not usually a threat to plants in winter, but a number of rodents (mice, hares) may visit the garden in winter in search of food. Typically, rodent visits cause great damage to shrubs. Rabbits, mice, and voles gnaw on branches to get to the tender, moist layer beneath the bark.

This kind of damage is usually seen at the base of the plant, although in winters when there is a lot of snow, tooth damage along the branches can be seen as the snow lifts the animals towards the plant "feeders".

If the garden is located in an area frequented by these animals, it is recommended to additionally protect the plants. You can create a barrier around the plant with mesh or even wrap the bush with burlap. You can also use repellents from rodents, which is used to process shrubs.

Important!Ask your garden store for advice on which rodent repellants work best in your area. To obtain a lasting and reliable effect, liquid repellents are used several times during the season.

Shelter for the winter

In addition to the procedures described above, the plant needs to provide reliable external protection from temperature changes.

Shelter from sunburn

Since weigela has no leaves in winter, its stems are susceptible to sunburn, which occurs when the sun heats the bark on sunny but cold and frosty days. The sun stimulates the activity of the juices in the stem, which can result in damage to the woody tissue when a strong frost comes to replace the sun and the air temperature drops sharply.

Mostly young or newly transplanted shrubs growing on the unprotected south side of the garden are exposed to sunburn. If a severe sunburn is received, dried, cracked bark or otherwise damaged areas on the branches will be visually visible.

Video: how to cover plants for the winter You can prevent sunburn by wrapping the largest branches of weigela with agrofiber or placing shading wooden fences near the bush.

If the shrub is dense and has only thin branches that are not easy to wrap, give some shading on the south-facing side by securing a panel of burlap or black agrofibre to the weigel with a dozen regular clothespins or thin rope.

The shrub is moderately sensitive to frost, but it will still be appropriate to cover it from the winter cold. It is worth pouring a mound of soil around the root zone of the plant, so that the roots do not freeze. In addition, old shrubs cope well with the cold, but it is advisable to cover young plants with dense agrotextiles.

This will increase the likelihood that ornamental plants will not die in severe frosts. There are several ways to cover wintering weigela shrubs.

Method number 1

Wrap the bush "at the waist" with thick twine and pull the branches together - carefully, but compactly.
Wrap with dense spunbond, burlap or agro fabric.
Using a stapler or clothespins, fasten the ends of the insulating fabric so that the bush is in a warm cover.
Pour four to five buckets of soil or compost into the root zone of the plant (up to 1 m in diameter) in the form of a gentle hill.

Method number 2 This method is suitable for young and flexible shrubs:

The top of the bush is pulled together with twine.
Tie a plastic bucket half-filled with sand to one of the top branches.
A few hours later, the top of the bush, which has fallen to the ground under the weight of the bucket, is fixed on the ground with a large wire “hairpin” or a pair of bricks and the branches of the bush are tied in several places with twine. As a result, we get a "doctor's sausage" laid on the ground.
We cover the branches lying on the ground (as far as possible) with soil brought from another part of the garden. The height of the soil, on top of the lying branches, should be approximately 30-40 cm.
The trunk circle of the shrub is also insulated with soil or compost. For a young bush, 3 buckets are enough.

Video: sheltering shrubs for the winter

What to do if dry or dry

It happens that in spring the aerial part of the weigela bush turns out to be dry. In this case, the gardener assumes that his plant is withered or frozen. There are a number of possible causes for shriveling, and before taking any action, you need to determine which of these causes applies to your plant.

The two main causes of winter shrinkage are:

root damage;
lack of water.

Plant roots draw water from the ground and feed it to the above-ground parts of the shrub. If the roots are damaged, the flow of water to the leaves is reduced. This can cause branches to dry out.

In winter, the roots may suffer:

from lack of moisture in the soil;
from frostbite;
from physical trauma, being pushed to the surface by freeze-thaw cycles and recompressed by frozen ground.

How to determine the cause of dryness

Weigels that have not endured the winter well can often be rehabilitated, they just need time to recover. To determine how to help the plant, carefully inspect the shrub and the soil under it.

If damage to the roots is suspected, look for a possible site of injury. If the roots are not injured, you need to carefully test the ground for hardness with a shovel. If the soil is dry deeper than 5-10 cm, the weigela shrub needs water.

Possible causes of root damage:

What to do

Important! Water supply to the root system when the roots are unable to absorb water, at best- a useless action, at worst - a reason for the start of root rot.

spring care

When the cold has receded, you can begin active care of the plant.

spring pruning

Although weigela is a hardy plant, it can suffer from frost damage, especially in areas with harsh winters. Therefore, at the end of the winter of planting, it is necessary to inspect and cut off all the affected (dead) branches.

Upon visual inspection, the stems on which the buds did not grow will be noticeable. Such dead branches on the cut will be dry and black, they need to be cut with a pruner until light, live wood begins.
Thanks to this procedure, the plant will recover faster after the winter and grow new shoots. If it is not too clear whether a branch is alive or not, you need to scratch its bark with a fingernail. When it turns out that the woody tissue (sapwood) under the bark is greenish-white, the stem is healthy; dry tissue indicates that the branch has died.

Remove dead branches using a sharp garden pruner or a special pruning knife. Tool blades should be wiped with alcohol before each cut to prevent the spread of disease.

If necessary, you can remove damaged or frozen branches at the end of winter, but in order to preserve flower buds, experts recommend moving this procedure to spring. If the shrub is old and heavily overgrown, you can rejuvenate it by removing a few large branches at the end of winter.

Cut them off near the base of the bush to allow light to enter the undergrowth, which will encourage new shoots to form. Old, thick branches may need to be removed with a garden saw, as pruning shears can't handle such rough wood.

Video: viigela care

Trimming time

Spring pruning of weigela shrubs is best done after the plant has faded. Therefore, in the spring you need to enjoy the lush flowering of decorative weigela until it is completely over, and then prune. If the plant is cut too early (before flowering), it can adversely affect the ability of the shrub to fully bloom the following year.

Important! Weigela flower buds are laid on annual branches. This means that next year such branches will bloom profusely. If the gardener waits for the bush to bloom before starting pruning, it will be easier for him to determine by the drying flowers which branches can be cut, and which will certainlyneed to leave to bloom next year.

Spring top dressing

Early spring fertilizers must be applied under the weigela in order to give the shrub, weakened during the winter, strength for growth and flowering. 15 times already
helped