Plant of the Month June 2025
GENERAL INFORMATION: A keen gardener started our garden when the house was built, about 1950. Perhaps 10 of her species still exist. She would not recognize anything, except the Weigela ‘Florida Variegata’ beside the north-facing front door. It must be over 60 years old, double the projected life span. It is still healthy, though not growing as vigorously. Its companion dwindled, probably through age and root competition.
Synonym: Weigela florida ‘Aureovariegata’, Weigela florida ‘Variegata’, Weigela florida 'Variegata Aurea’ Weigela florida 'Nana Variegata'
Common Name: Weigela.
Weigela 'Florida Variegata’ 60 year-old shrub.
Life Cycle: Deciduous shrub.
Height: About 1.5 m tall and wide.
Bloom Time: June in Toronto.
Weigela 'Florida Variegata’ - flowers.
Flower Colour & Size: Clusters of funnel shaped, pale to dark pink flowers, about 3 cm long.
Leaves: Opposite, acuminate, green leaves grow on arching stems. The greenish white margin becomes yellowish white in the summer.
Weigela 'Florida Variegata’ -flowers and leaves.
Range: Native to North China, Japan and Korea.
Habitat: Clearings in mixed forests, scrub.
CULTIVATION:
Light: Sun or partial shade.
Soil: Most soils, including clay, - well drained, fertile. Somewhat tolerant of slightly salty soils.
Water: Average to low.
USDA Hardiness: Zones 5-9.
Pest and Diseases: Usually trouble free.
Attracts: Hummingbirds.
Companion planting: Other shrubs in a shrub border, or foundation planting, or as a specimen.
Pruning: Remove older stems after flowering.
Propagation: By cuttings - softwood in the spring, semi hardwood in the summer and hardwood in the fall more early winter. Any seed is unlikely to produce a similar plant.
References:
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/93517/weigela-florida-variegata-(v)/details
https://plants.vandermeernursery.com/11110008/Plant/8313/Dwarf_Variegated_Weigela
Text and images supplied by Anna Leggatt (Toronto Master Gardener)