Wine & Roses Weigela by Cheezylu
TheGardenLady received a question from someone named Nicky who lives near TheGardenLady and who has seen TheGardenLady’s garden.
You have a beautiful specimen in your garden that is in bloom with lovely pink blossoms and dark leaves (reddish). It has the general size of a flowering almond, but seems to be a different specimen. May I ask what this is.
The plant that Nicky was asking about is the Weigela called Wine and Roses.
The Weigela is a pretty shrub that makes an excellent hedge or it can be a specimen plant, as TheGardenLady has. Besides the pretty flowers that hummingbirds and butterflies are supposed to like, Wine and Roses is especially interesting because the of the purple color of the leaves. The plant was named after the German scientist Christian Ehrenfried Weigel and doesn’t seem to have a common name. See here.
The Weigela is an easy shrub to raise. It will tolerate some shade, though Wine and Roses prefers sun to get the darkest purple leaf color. It is a low maintenance shrub that seems to have few pest or disease problems and is deer resistant. The deer had nibbled on my Wiegela when it was a baby, but doesn’t seem to be bothered by anything now that it is larger. Still to be on the safe side, I give all my plants a spray of Liquid Fence. See here.
The Wiegela is easy to propagate by stem cuttings, so if you know anyone who has the plant, ask for a branch or two to start one for yourself. See here.
Wine and Roses Weigela by Rosie’s Whimsy