Wine & Roses Weigela
Weigela florida ‘Alexandra’
Wine & Roses Weigela
Weigela florida ‘Alexandra’
How are the heights measured?
All tree, and nothin' but the tree! We measure from the top of the soil to the top of the tree; the height of the container or the root system is never included in our measurements.
What is a gallon container?
Nursery containers come in a variety of different sizes, and old-school nursery slang has stuck. While the industry-standard terminology is to call the sizes "Gallon Containers", that doesn't exactly translate to the traditional liquid "gallon" size we think of. You'll find we carry young 1-gallons, up to more mature 7-gallons ranging anywhere from 6 inches to 6ft.
How does the delivery process work?
All of our orders ship via FedEx Ground! Once your order is placed online, our magic elves get right to work picking, staging, boxing and shipping your trees. Orders typically ship out within 2 business days. You will receive email notifications along the way on the progress of your order, as well as tracking information to track your plants all the way to their new home!
Why are some states excluded from shipping?
The short & sweet answer is: "United States Department of Agriculture Restrictions." Every state has their own unique USDA restrictions on which plants they allow to come into their state. While we wish we could serve everyone, it's for the safety of native species and helps prevent the spread of invasive disease & pests. We've gotta protect good ole' Mother Nature, after all.
About Me
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The Wine & Roses® Weigela is a colorful and bright shrub that is easy to grow in any garden. It has rich purple leaves from spring to fall, and for 8 weeks in May and June it is covered in large blooms, whose old-rose pink coloring stands out perfectly against the foliage. After pruning it will bloom again in late summer and early fall. It grows into a graceful mound of arching stems, about 5 feet tall and 6 feet across, and it fits perfectly into a shrub bed, at the back of smaller beds, and in the middle of larger ones. It can be planted as a single specimen, as a group of 3 or 5, or as an informal hedge, where it will bring color for the whole garden season.
- Rich deep-purple foliage from spring to fall
- Profuse blooming in May, June and early fall
- Large, funnel-shaped old-rose pink flowers
- Easy to grow in any garden
- Tough, reliable and deer resistant
The Wine & Roses® Weigela is hardy across almost all the country, and it grows anywhere, even in urban areas. It thrives best in full sun, in ordinary well-drained soil, although it will grow in light shade too, and in most conditions. It is moderately drought resistant, but it will bloom best with regular watering. It should be pruned immediately after flowering, to encourage a second blooming and to keep its attractive open form. It normally has no pests or diseases and deer usually don’t bother it.
- Plant Hardiness Zones 4-8
- Mature Width 4-6
- Mature Height 4-6
- Sun Needs Full Sun, Partial Sun
Spring and summer in the garden should be a time of profuse blooming and lots of color. This is easy in early spring, but when warmer weather arrives, we still need those blooms – and that is where the Wine & Roses® Weigela steps in. This colorful shrub bloom steadily throughout May and June, and usually blooms again in late summer and early fall as well. It is among the easiest and most reliable of shrubs too, growing well in urban conditions, and thriving with very little attention. The Wine & Roses Weigela has deep purple foliage all season, that perfectly compliments the rich rosy pink of the abundant blooms. A glass of burgundy wine and a vase of old-pink roses, all together on a single plant.
This easy-care deciduous shrub grows as a cluster of arching stems, reaching no more than 6 feet in height, that form a framework for short side branches carrying abundant blossoms all along the stems. Each flower is large – two inches long and one inch across – shaped like a funnel and carried in clusters of up to 8 blooms. They are the color of old roses, a rich, bright pink with purplish overtones. The color carried throughout the flower, without the yellow throat that many weigela have. Blooming last up to 8 weeks – an extraordinary long time for flowering shrubs – and a simple trim after blooming will ensure you get a second display at the end of summer and into the early fall. Another great thing is that hummingbirds love weigela, and this shrub is sure to attract any living in your neighborhood. This is a great bush to plant near where your children play, so they can enjoy the thrill of seeing those marvelous creatures. It fits well into any shrub bed, alone or in a group, and it can be planted in a row as an attractive informal screen. Space plants at 4-foot intervals.
The slightly glossy leaves of the Wine & Roses Weigela are tough and durable. They are oval, 3½ inches long and 2 inches across. They emerge in spring a bright purple color, which quickly deepens to a rich, stable wine. This darkens and intensifies in direct sun and when the temperatures climb. That is very different from many other shrubs and trees with colored leaves, which tend to become greenish as the temperatures rise. This bold coloring last right into fall, and it means this shrub keeps on giving and giving, even when not in bloom.
Growing Wine & Roses Weigela
Once you plant your Wine & Roses Weigela, it will take off, growing rapidly and vigorously into a broad bush, with numerous stems growing up from the base and arching outwards, until you soon have a plant over 5 feet tall and 6 feet across. It grows and flowers best – and has the best foliage color – if you plant it in full sun, but it will be fine in a little light or dappled shade for part of the day. It grows well in any average soil that is well-drained, and although it is drought-resistant once established, it benefits from regular watering, to keep it lush and blooming. This is one of the easiest of shrubs to grow, even in city gardens, and it is more resistant to disease than other weigelas – and pests and diseases are already rare among these plants. It is normally not bothered by deer. this plant responds well to pruning immediately after the June blooms are finished. Cut back all the flowering side-shoots to an inch or two in length and remove the top few inches of the main stems Remove any weak or crowded stems at the base. This will stimulate a second flowering, and keep the graceful, arching form of this shrub from becoming too crowded.
History and Origins of Wine & Rose Weigelas
There are only seven species in the genus Weigela, and most of the ones we grow in gardens come from the species called Weigela florida. That name is a bit confusing, as it doesn’t come from the state of Florida at all, but from Japan, northern China and Korea. The name is from the word ‘florid’, which originally meant ‘flushed red’. Wild plants can be up to 10 feet tall, and the original plants were brought to Europe from Japan in 1845, by the plant collector Robert Fortune. The variety we call Wine & Roses was discovered during a breeding program created by Herman Geers, a nurseryman in Boskoop, The Netherlands. That area is the heart of the Dutch nursery industry. In the 1990s he took pollen from one of the seedlings he had grown and used it to pollinate an older variety called ‘Victoria’. Among the seedlings he raised one stood out, and he named it ‘Alexandra’. He acquired both a US plant patent and Plant Breeders Rights in The Netherlands in the late 90s, but these have now expired. Spring Meadow Nursery, Inc., in Grand Haven, Michigan, incorporated this plant into their ‘Wine’ series of Proven Winners® as Wine & Roses®.
This great shrub was winner of the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society Gold Medal Plant Award for 2000, and winner of the Penn State ‘Gardener Selects’ trials in 2001. This proven worth has made it one of the most popular weigela around, and our stock is flying out the gates. Order now, because they will soon be gone.
