Wine & Spirits Weigela

The deep-red foliage and the crisp, white flowers of the Wine & Spirits® Weigela is indeed like a mellow glass of burgundy followed by a crisp vodka chaser. It will certainly lift the spirits of your garden, which might be feeling a bit tired these days. You will savor the warm coloring of the foliage, bright, deep purple-red in spring as the new season begins. The color holds well, just becoming more mellow, the color of well-aged wine. Flowering begins in late spring and into early summer, with clusters of flowers all along the arching stems. They are 1 inch across, tall flaring trumpets, white, with slight greenish toning, looking brilliant and fresh against the dark foliage. Annual pruning will encourage a second, smaller blooming in late summer. Growing 3 to 5 feet tall and wide, with an attractive arching form, this is a great garden shrub for beds, and attractive also as an informal hedge, or lining a drive or path. Easy to grow and trouble-free, sit back, relax and let the Wine & Spirits® Weigela do your garden work for you.

• Rich burgundy foliage stays dark and striking for the whole season
• Abundant clear-white blossoms in spring and summer
• Attractive mound of arching branches to 5 feet tall and wide
• Easy to grow and a reliable shrub for any garden
• Great in beds, or as an informal border or hedge

The Wine & Spirits® Weigela should be grown in full sun for the best growth and maximum flowering, but an hour or two of shade each day won’t be a problem, but not more. It grows well in ordinary soils that are well-drained, and is a great choice if you have alkaline or limestone soil. It is very tolerant of clays and poor soils from new construction or in urban gardens. Growing quickly, it will soon fill out and mature in a few years. Deer avoid it and it generally has no serious pest or disease problems. Pruning is recommended after the spring/summer flowering finishes. Trim back the side shoots that have flowered, and remove the top few inches from new shoots to encourage branching. New flower buds often form after this, giving you some blooms in late summer or early fall.