Bloom of the Week: Red Prince Weigela

Red Prince Weigela are highly prized for their dark pink to red flowers. These blooms are out from late spring all through summer and appear in clusters against a backdrop of dense, medium-green foliage. The blooms attract hummingbirds like magnets! 

Weigela is a tough and easy deciduous flowering shrub. For best flowering and growth, provide these shrubs with full to partial sun and average to fertile soil with good drainage. They look super in mixed borders or as hedges. Prune them back to strong new side shoots in summer after they bloom. Shearing them destroys their natural arching habit.

When planting the Red Prince weigela, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• First, clean up the planting site. Remove any rocks, leaves, twigs, weeds and other debris. Spread a 2 in. deep layer of compost over the ground with a rake. Mix the compost into the top 10 to 12 inches of soil, this probably best done with a rototiller, but you can also do it with a garden fork.
• Next, dig a hole twice as wide as and equal in depth to your Red Price weigela's root ball. Keep in mind it's probably best to space the shrubs 6 ft. away from everything (other plants, buildings, etc.).

• Remove the weigela from its container or root ball wrappings and cut off any dead, brown to black, broken or mushy roots with a pair of pruning shears. Cut through roots growing in circles around the root ball.

• Place the weigela in the center of the planting hole. Fill the hole halfway with soil, tamping it down firmly around the root ball. Fill the hole entirely with water from a garden hose. Allow the water to drain down through the soil. Fill the hole with additional soil, tamping it down around the roots. Do not overfill the hole or bury the weigela deeper than it was previously growing.
• Build up a 4 in. mound of soil around the weigela, 18-24 in. away from the main stem. Fill the resulting reservoir with water. Wait for the water to drain down through the soil. Sprinkle additional soil onto any depressions created by the draining water. Do not tamp the extra soil down, because doing so would overly compact the wet soil.

• Spread a 2 in. deep layer of bark mulch over the planting site. Keep the mulch 4-6 in. away from the weigela's main stem to prevent it from rotting.

• Water the weigela when the top 1-2 in. of soil become dry. Do not allow the soil to dry out completely or become soggy. If possible, maintain this watering schedule during the first year of growth.

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