Most of us know weigela bushes as broad, mounding shrubs at least as wide as they are tall. They have terrific blooms over a long period that attract hummingbirds, but you must either have room for a broad shrub, or settle for some of the newer, low-growing varieties. What we needed was an upright weigela, with a narrow profile, but still smothered in blooms. Well, hey presto!, here it is. The Apple Blossom Towers Of Flowers® Weigela is a slender, upright bush quickly growing up to 6 feet tall, but just a couple of feet wide – wow! It’s exactly what we want for smaller spaces and smaller gardens, and now you can have height and blooms – a column of blooms from top to bottom that just keeps on blooming for 3 months of the year. The options for using it are endless, from espalier on a fence, wall or trellis to a great narrow hedge, and of course it’s perfect for planter boxes too. The blooms are beautiful soft pink, darker on the outside and turning to pale lilac as they mature – a wonderful display of delicate and delicious coloring. If you love red instead, then check out the Cherry TOWERS OF FLOWERS® Weigela – just as wonderful, but with vibrant scarlet blooms..

Growing the Apple Blossom Towers Of Flowers® Weigela

Size and Appearance

The Apple Blossom Towers Of Flowers® Weigela grows to 3 feet tall in its second year in your garden, and within a couple more years it will be approaching 6 feet tall, yet it stays around 3 feet wide, and with some trimming it could be even narrower. In planters and pots it is likely to stay about 4 feet tall. It’s a breakthrough in weigela, because all the other varieties are broad and mounding. Leaves are carried all along the young stems, and in clusters along the older branches. They are mid-green and oval, with a lustrous surface, prominent veins and a tapering point. They are about 3 inches long and keep your bush looking attractive even when blooming is over.

The first flower buds will be visible as soon as April in warmer zones, and the peak period for blooming is through May and June, with blooms still opening in July – that’s 3 months of blooms, much more than almost any other flowering shrub. Flowers are carried all along the stems, from near the ground to the very tip. They are in clusters of up to 5 buds, but in abundance, so blooming is very prolific. The flowers are trumpet-shaped, with a flaring mouth of 5 open lobes, inviting those hummingbirds to visit – and they do. About 1-inch long and 1¼-inch wide, the flowers are a beautiful pink on the outside, opening the same color and then as they mature they become paler, true apple-blossom pink, turning to a very pale lilac-pink at the end of their time – individual flowers last about 5 days.

Using the Apple Blossom Towers Of Flowers® Weigela in Your Garden

This great bush brings a new look – it really is a ‘tower of flowers’. Use it for height in narrow areas, between evergreens perhaps, or at the back of a bed. Plant it surrounded by lower shrubs for a striking contrast. Spaced 18 to 24 inches apart it’s a perfect slender hedge that needs little trimming. Spread it out on a sunny wall, fence, or trellis – bingo!, instant espalier that is dead easy to create. In zones 7 and 8 it makes a great year-round shrub for planter boxes too – height with little width, it’s terrific.

Hardiness

You can grow the Apple Blossom Towers Of Flowers® Weigela from zone 6 all through zone 8. It will grow in zone 9 too, but in areas with very mild winters it may not have enough cold to develop its flowers properly.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

You will get the best results planting your Apple Blossom Towers Of Flowers® Weigela in full sun, but it will do just fine with an hour or two of shade each day – just avoid too much or it won’t flower so well. You will of course get the best results in moist, rich, well-drained soil, but the good news is that this shrub is super-tough, and grows even in poor urban soils, clays, and just about anywhere that isn’t always wet – it’s a fully-qualified survivor.

Maintenance and Pruning

You can expect the Apple Blossom Towers of Flowers® Weigela to be free of any significant pests or diseases, and usually even deer ignore it. Some simple pruning is a good idea. After most of the flowering is over cut back the stems that bloomed by about one-third. On older bushes remove a couple of the oldest stems close to the ground. That’s it – and don’t trim new stems in summer, as they are where the flowers will be next year. You can also stake the stems as needed to build a very tight and narrow column for a more formal look.

History and Origin of the Apple Blossom Towers Of Flowers® Weigela

Weigela florida grows wild in Japan, China, and Korea. It was one of the many plants brought out of Japan in the 19th century that excited Western gardeners, and it’s an enduring favorite. The breakthrough Apple Blossom Towers Of Flowers® Weigela was created by one of the world’s top flower breeders – a Frenchman called Charles Valin who has been the head breeder for the last 10 years at the English seed and plant company Thompson & Morgan. He has created many different new flowers. He has been developing new weigela from seed for several years, and in 2014 he collected seed from one of them, which he tagged as `WG13001`. Among the seedlings at their Ipswich breeding greenhouses he found a plant that was unique. It first flowered in 2016 and was patented with the name ‘TMWG16-02’ in 2020. T&M have worked with PlantHaven International in Santa Barbara California to release this plant for American gardeners, under the Towers Of Flowers® trademark, as the color Apple Blossom.

Buying the Apple Blossom Towers Of Flowers® Weigela at the Tree Center

For a beautiful, delicate yet bright look, you can’t beat the lovely tones of pinks, lilacs and whites on this beautiful shrub. Enjoy it in the garden or in a planter – either way you’ll love its endless and profuse blooming. But order now, because this beauty is selling out fast.