Smothered in drifts of trumpet-shaped blooms, Weigela Shrubs come in a wide variety of foliage and flower colors, are easy to grow, and are beneficial for Pollinators and Hummingbirds!
Check out these Top 5 of our favorite Weigela bushes that showcase the range of sizes, colors, and forms this fantastic plant family has available for your landscape!
Table of Contents
All About Weigela
Weigela has been used in Chinese gardens as a hedge plant since at least the third century! Native throughout Northern China, Korea, and Japan, today's plant scientists have been hard at work to develop the Weigela's many worthy attributes!
These flowering ornamental deciduous shrubs are members of the Honeysuckle family and grow in a wide range of USDA planting zones 4 to 8.
Weigela - pronounced "wy-gee-la" - is a high-performance flowering shrub, with long-lasting flowering displays that bring a bright pop of happy color in full sun and partial shade.
Long, wide-mouthed, tube-shaped flower corollas adorn the length of the arched branches. The blooms are held in cute inflorescent clusters called corymbs. Many Weigela bushes bloom from May to June, but this genus has seen exciting improvements in worthy plant attributes including reblooming varieties like the Sonic Bloom® Weigelas!
Pretty, petite, narrowly ovate leaves are held in tiered clusters along the branches. They are usually green and lustrous with a noteworthy mid-rib for texture. But now many newer varieties include black, purple, chartreuse, maroon, and even several types of variegated foliage options!
Size-wise, larger Weigela top out at 5 - 6 feet in height and 5-6 feet in width, but dwarf forms are available that grow only 12-18 inches tall and 2 feet wide, making them ideal for container gardening!
Top 5 Weigela Shrubs!
On to the Top 5 selections that best showcase the wide range of the Weigela!
#5 Electric Love® Weigela
At number 5, the carmine-red summer blooms of the Electric Love® Weigela (Weigela x 'ZR1') add contrast against the dark bronzy-purple foliage that holds its color all growing season long! The dark foliage and itty-bitty clusters of flowers are a dramatic contrast and are sure to add showy formality to garden beds and borders of any size.
- Bold Red Bloom Clusters
- Dark Bronzy-Purple to Burgundy Foliage
- Pollinator & Hummingbird-Friendly
- Summer Blooming Small Compact Shrub
- Containers, Edging, Small Space Gardening & Borders
Electric Love® stays naturally small and space-saving, only reaching 1-2 feet in height and a bit wider at maturity! This Blooming Easy® selection more than makes up for its size with its sheer flower and foliage combination color impact!
#4 Proven Winners® Wine & Roses® Weigela
The number 4 pick is Winner of the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society Gold Medal. A stunner that is completely smothered in bright rosy wine-red blooms, the Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Wine & Roses® Weigela (Weigela florida 'Alexandra') has new spring growth emerges in a shade of purple so deep that it almost looks black. Wine & Roses® features rosy-pink flowers that pop against the near-black, dark purple foliage.
- Dark Purple Foliage & Rosy-Pink Flowers in Spring & Summer
- Graceful Growth Habit 4-5 feet Rounded Form
- Beautiful in Cut Flower Arrangements
- Attracts Butterflies & Hummingbirds
- Include in Modern Foundation Plantings, Borders, Backdrops & Specimens
- Growing Zones 4-8
The colorful shrub blooms in the spring and continues to rebloom sporadically well into fall! Try using several of the colorful branches in flower arrangements. Be sure to start cutting them as soon as the pink buds begin to show in spring. Check out the entire Proven Winners® Wine® Weigela line including Spilled Wine®, Midnight Wine® and Fine Wine® for a gorgeous mixture of dark cabernet-colored foliage options!
#3 Tuxedo™ Weigela
At number 3, the Tuxedo™ Weigela (Weigela x 'Velda') will add some formal attire to the garden! This Weigela goes black tie with pure white flowers and nearly-black, super dark, purplish-green leaves! Then it adds the bonus of being fragrant! Mid-sized, these oval shrubs do as well in the sun and blend into any style garden and any color palette! Growing 4 - 5 feet in height and about 3 - 4 feet wide, Tuxedo™ flowers in the late spring but continue reblooming well into the autumn months.
- Deep, Dark Foliage
- Pure White Flowers Bloom In Spring & Rebloom Through Fall
- Fragrant Blooms Attracts Butterflies & Hummingbirds
- Tidy, Compact Shrub!
- Grows 4 - 5 feet Tall & 3 - 4 feet Wide
- Dramatic Hedges, Specimens, Backdrops, Planters & Accents
- Growing Zones 4-8
Imagine having a foundation planting or screening hedge of Tuxedo™ Weigela, and look fantastic against gray, white, or stone-clad homes! So classy and formal!
#2 Red Prince Weigela
At number two, the rosy red flowers of the Red Prince Weigela (Weigela florida 'Red Prince') are a real breakthrough, the phenomenal number of red flowers on this shrub in late spring is truly astounding. Red Prince is often mistaken for an Azalea when the bright petals show up in the summer! Then, you and your pollinators will be amazed as more blooms reappear in the fall! The dark green leaves grow into a dense rounded 4-6 feet tall and wide form!
- Bright Rosy Scarlet-Red Blooms
- Reblooms Again In Fall
- Lush Green Foliage & 4-6 Foot Round Form
- Very Showy Color Contrast
- Wonderful Hedges, Privacy, Specimens & Backdrops
- Cold Hardy USDA Zones 4-8
Red Prince would make an outstanding shrub border along the side of your house. They'll also make the perfect untrimmed hedge to screen your patio from a neighbor! This cold-hardy shrub is a flower factory in full-sun front or backyard gardens.
#1 Proven Winners® ColorChoice® My Monet® Weigela
Our number one pick will amaze you with its tri-tone variegated leaves and bright raspberry-pink flowers! A dwarf Weigela, the Proven Winners® ColorChoice® My Monet® (Weigela florida 'Verweig') will knock your socks off with its colorful presence and showy green and white form with pink highlights! Cold-hardy, these flowering powerhouses stay a nice and compact 18 inches tall and 2 feet wide! Low maintenance and container-ready, My Monet is an impressionist’s work of art in raspberry, green, and vanilla!
- Dwarf Compact Weigela
- Incredible Green, Pink & White Variegated Foliage
- Soft Raspberry Pink Flowers
- Grows Just 12 - 18 inches Tall & 18 - 24 inches Wide
- Gorgeous In Containers, as Facer Plants, Edging, Specimens & Borders!
- Growing Zones 4-6
As an added bonus, the Proven Winners® My Monet® line includes the My Monet® Sunset with colorful pink and red tinted variegated leaves, and My Monet® Purple Effect with violet-pink flowers and variegated leaves. Collect them all for your garden!
Wonderful Weigela Shrubs!
Easy to grow and never troublesome in the landscape, the well-behaved Weigela has something for everyone!
If you’d like to know more about caring for Weigela, check our #ProPlantTips blog! We have all the tips and tricks for keeping your Weigela shrubs happy, healthy, and blooming all season long!
Happy Planting!
