purpleleaf weigela
© Richie Steffen / Great Plant Picks
Dark burgundy purple shiny-foliage makes this deciduous shrub a knock-out in the garden. In early spring, its foliage emerges green flushed with purple and quickly takes on its deeper burgundy tones. In early summer, the foliage is complimented with rich rosy-red trumpet shaped flowers which line the shrub's gracefully arching stems. WINE & ROSES® weigela is a medium-sized shrub that is great for adding drama to perennial plantings by adding both height and wonderfully contrasting foliage. Hummingbirds find the flowers irresistible! The flowers and foliage hold up surprisingly well when cut for the vase.
Plant Type: shrub
Growth Habit: mounding
Foliage Type: deciduous
Plant Height (10-year): 5 ft. 0 in. (1.52 meters)
Plant Width/Spread (10-year): 5 ft. 0 in. (1.52 meters)
Plant Height-Mature: 0 ft. 0 in. (0 meters)
Plant Width-Mature: 0 ft. 0 in. (0 meters)
Hardiness: USDA Zones 5 to 9
Flower Color: rose
Flowering Time: spring
Sun/Light Exposure: full sun
Water Requirements: occasional watering
Seasonal Interest: purple foliage & early summer flowers
Wildlife Associations: bees, hummingbirds
Great Plant Combinations:
Great Color Contrasts: variegated, silver, gold
Great Color Partners: burgundy, purple, pink
This weigela is easy to grow. It prefers a moist to well-drained soil and will tolerate sandy or clay conditions. Plant it in a location with full sun to light or open shade. The foliage will be the deepest color with more sun. Once established it needs only occasional watering during dry weather to look its best. Very little pruning is required when the plant is young. Once this weigela is well established, older twiggy stems and weak shoots should be removed after flowering. This will encourage the vigorous new growth that provides the best show.
Plant Patent #10772 to Herman Geers, Boskoop, Netherlands, inventor and Spring Meadow Nursery, Inc., Grand Haven, Michigan, assignee, 1997 under the cultivar name 'Alexandra'. WINE AND ROSES is the registered trademark name being used for marketing. Winner of the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society Gold Medal Plant Award for 2000.
Text and photos ©2020 Great Plant Picks/Elisabeth Carey Miller Garden except where otherwise noted
Funded by the Pendleton and Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation, The Seattle Times, and Individual Donors
Administered by the Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden