Czechmark Trilogy® Weigela

Late spring can be a bit of a gap period in the garden, if you don’t plan for it. When most spring-flowering shrubs are finished, and the summer ones have not yet started, that’s when the weigela bush comes into its own. The tubular flowers are studded all along the stems, but many varieties have been developed to emphasize leaf color, not blooms, and while they are beautiful, they may not bloom as prolifically as we would like. For that, the Czechmark Trilogy® Weigela steps onto center stage, because it is the result of intensive breeding and selection to emphasize abundant flowering. The branches are smothered with blooms, attracting the first hummingbirds of the season, and butterflies too. To really make a great show even better, the blooms are carried in clusters of three colors all at once – red, pink and white. What a show! If you love bushes laden with flowers, this is the bush for you.

Growing the Czechmark Trilogy® Weigela

Size and Appearance

The Czechmark Trilogy Weigela is a deciduous woody shrub, with stout branches that rise vertically and branch out horizontally, creating a rounded plant a little more than 3 feet tall, and equally wide. The thick stems have an interesting knobbly bark, which is most noticeable in winter, adding some interest at that quiet time. The leaves are a rich, dark green that holds well all season, and they are oval, 1½ inches long, with a pointed tip and a softly serrated edge. They are carried in pairs all along new branches, and in clusters along the older stems, keeping this bush dense and attractive.

Regular weigela bushes have flowers in clusters of 4 or 5, but in this plant there are about 20 in each large cluster, making large, 4 inches tall bunches of blooms. You can expect to have 200 or 300 blooms on a mature bush over the season, which lasts a full month or more, from late spring into the first weeks of summer. In a good location you can expect to have more flower clusters appearing during the summer, as new stems mature. The tubular flowers are like trumpets, with lobed edges, and they are a full inch wide, and 1½ inches long, significantly larger than on most other varieties. The flowers are fragrant, and they open white, then turn pink, and mature to a bright purple-red color – three colors all at the same time, as the blooms open progressively in each cluster. This really is a stunning display, the best we have ever seen on a weigela, and this is a variety that turns that ordinary shrub into something very special.

Using the Czechmark Trilogy® Weigela in Your Garden

Wherever you need flowers, that is where to grow this bush. Its compact size makes it perfect for smaller beds, or you can plant it in groups in larger ones. Tuck it among the evergreens around your home for a great finish, or plant it along a path for the ‘welcome home’ you deserve. It can be planted in a row, spaced 2-feet apart, for a low border, or edging to a bed, or along a path, or beside the driveway. It also grows well in planters and pots on a terrace or patio.

Hardiness

The Czechmark Trilogy Weigela is hardy to zone 4, and it will grow in all but the very warmest parts of the country too, all the way into zone 8.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Grow this shrub in full sun for the most flowers and best results. A little shade for a few hours is tolerated well. It will grow in any well-drained soil, including poorer soils, and both acid and alkaline ones. Established plants tolerate normal summer dryness with no problem at all.

Maintenance and Pruning

Mulch the soil over the roots in spring with some garden compost or other organic material to conserve moisture, and to feed you bush. Pests and diseases are not usually problems. For the best results, prune as soon as the last flowers fall. Trim back all stems that carried blooms close to the main branches, leaving just a few inches of growth. New shoots will quickly develop that will flower in the following year. After a few years, at the same time, start removing a few of the oldest branches back to a lower and younger stem, or right to the ground. This will encourage vigorous new branches to grow, rejuvenating older bushes. This annual pruning is the only care needed.

History and Origin of the Czechmark Trilogy® Weigela

Weigela florida is a large shrub that grows naturally in Japan, Korea and northern China. It is not from the state of Florida – the name is from ‘florid’, meaning ‘flushed red’, to describe the flowers. The famous plant collector Robert Fortune brought it to Europe from Japan in 1845, and from there it was shipped to America. It has been widely grown in Europe and America since then, for its beautiful flowers.

Vojtech Benetka is a plant breeder at the Silva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening in Pruhonice, the Czech Republic. In 2004 he pollinated a plant of Weigela `Musca` with pollen from a plant of his own breeding. Among the resulting seedlings was one with very prolific blooming, large blossoms and unique color changes as the flowers mature. He patented this plant in 2018 with Spring Meadow Nursery of Grand Haven, Michigan, as ‘VUKOZGemini’, and it is marketed as a Proven Winners® plant by Spring Meadow, with the trademarked name of Czechmark Trilogy®.

Buying the Czechmark Trilogy® Weigela at The Tree Center

We specialize in bringing the newest and best to our clients, and we simply couldn’t believe the blooming on this shrub, and neither will you. You can be sure it will sell out like crazy, so order yours now, while we still have stock available.