Background

• The Weigela florida (whose name comes from its reddish, "florid" color) is native to Japan and Robert Fortune brought it to Europe in 1845. According to Kinsley, European horticulturalists immediately admired the plant because of its "shape, flower, toughness and dependability," and, by the 1860s, they had improved the plant through "careful breeding." Today, there are more than 170 cultivars of the shrub.
  
  

Planting and care

• Weigela florida is a deciduous shrub, which the University of Connecticut's (U. Conn.) Plant Database considers to be one of the shrub's "liabilities," commenting that it appears "coarse and unattractive in winter" and can suffer from winter dieback. According to Ohio State University's (OSU) Plant Facts, however, the rest of the year, the dense, rounded shrub has a moderate to fast growth rate, and will typically grow six to nine feet high and nine to twelve feet wide. Weigela florida grows best in zones 4 to 8, in sunny locations and moist well-drained soil. Shrubs planted in the shade may become "straggly," and OSU recommends pruning to preserve the shape of the shrub and help reshape the plant after winter dieback.
  
  

Leaves

• OSU describes Weigela florida's leaves as medium to dark green in the summer, but they turn brown in the fall. The leaves are simple (meaning that they do not split before the stem), and grow up to four inches long, and about one inch wide. They have a round base, a pointed tip, a short petiole (the connection between the leaf blade and the stem) and a serrated edge. The leaves have an elliptical shape.
  
  

Flowers

• Weigela florida can be identified in spring by its abundant flowers, described by U. Conn.'s Plant Database as "funnelform to bell-shaped" and measuring about one inch long. They bloom in shades of pink and rose for a two-week period in the spring, typically in May and June. Unfortunately, this is one of the shrub's drawbacks. As Kinsley explains, the flowers are "admittedly spectacular in the spring but when they fade, the shrub offer[s] little but nondescript leaves on tangled twigs during summer and fall."
  
  

Cultivars

• The shrub's short blooming period led to the development of numerous cultivars. Kinsley notes that varieties have been cultivated to offer longer blooming periods and more flower colors. Other cultivars provide greater resistance to cold, varying sizes (dwarf and medium-size) and "fabulous foliage," which is now in high demand for floral arrangements.