Why does not weigela bloom?
Sometimes on thematic forums on the Internet you can see such a question. There are several reasons.
The first is too active pruning. As we know, weigela flowers are "tied" on the branches that grew last year. If you radically cut out a lot of branches, including "active" ones, then the flowers will have nothing to bloom on.
The second reason is the placement of bushes near trees that actively absorb water (for example, birch). They can take moisture from nearby plants, and for the harmonious development and flowering of weigel, high-quality soil moisture is needed.
If your shrubs grow in the shade of larger representatives, this may also be due to the lack of flowers. Weigela blooming needs sunlight, in the shade it will bloom poorly or not give color at all. Other possible reasons are a lack of fertilizers or damage to the shrub by diseases, pests.
Reproduction methods
For those who grow an attractive plant like weigela, it is helpful to know how to propagate it. Agronomists have long found that seed breeding allows:
- ensure the highest productivity;
- increase frost resistance;
- guarantee resistance to other adverse influences.
Weigela seeds reach maturity in early autumn. It is difficult to collect them due to their very small size, but the germination rate is 100%. Sowing is possible in both autumn and spring months. In the southern regions, the second option is preferable.
In this case, the seeds must be kept on top by a layer of peat or humus 0.5-1 cm thick. Additionally, it is slightly compacted to ensure the strength of the "trap". It is necessary to water the plantings abundantly using a sieve with a medium-sized cell. The seedlings are kept in one place for 3-5 years and only then are transplanted (as soon as the plant rises to 0.8-1 m). For mulching the soil, humus, high moor peat or leafy soil are used.
An alternative is to use lignified cuttings. A cut from the shoots of the first year can take root in any season. However, the best conditions for its development are in the spring months, before the buds begin to bloom. Sometimes green grafting is practiced, carried out 6-7 days after the beginning of flowering. Cuttings are prepared in November or in the first winter days, until severe frosts have yet come.
You can save the cut stalk in the cellar or just in a cold place (ditches under the snow are perfect).
When forming a winter shelter for cuttings, you need to make sure that it guarantees total protection against overdrying and freezing. With the onset of spring, the planting material must be cut. Judging by the reviews of gardeners, reproduction of weigela by cuttings is not difficult.
The lower cut is made under the kidney, and the upper one is 0.01-0.02 m higher than the highest of the kidneys. For planting directly into the ground, cuttings 0.25-0.3 m long are used. The planting material must be planted at an angle so that there are 4-6 paired buds outside. Rooting can be expected for 15-20 days. If the propagation method with green cuttings is chosen, the shoot should be cut at the very beginning of the lignification process (usually in the first 15 days of June).
Partial shearing of the sheet plate helps to minimize evaporation. The cut material is immediately immersed in water (not for long!), And then transplanted into loose soil placed in a container. 0.01-0.02 m of river sand is poured over it. Until the cuttings take root (this usually takes 10-14 days), the box must be kept under plastic wrap.
Care
There is nothing difficult in caring for the weigela blooming "Nana variegata". The main thing is to adhere to the basic rules.
- Watering. The plant is drought-resistant, it is better to dry it than flood it. There is no need to water the bush often and abundantly.During the period when buds begin to form, the bush needs to be watered with plenty of water. Then watered when the first flowers appear. Watering should be reduced by the end of summer. All of the above is relevant only when there is no precipitation in summer. If the summer is rainy, the plant does not need to be watered at all.
- Top dressing. While adhering to all the rules of planting and using special mineral fertilizers for the next 3 years, the bush does not need additional additives. If you really want to feed, then use organic. Upon reaching the age of 3, the shrub must be fertilized with superphosphates and organic additives.
- Loosening and mulching. Young plants must be loosened necessarily and preferably after watering has been carried out. Constant loosening will make it possible to saturate the plant's root system with the required amount of oxygen. The first mulching is done immediately after planting in open ground. Wood bark is used as mulch.
- Pruning. The shrub is very beautiful in itself, its crown is spreading, it is not specially formed. All that is needed is to perform sanitary pruning with the arrival of spring. You need to prune dry and dead shoots. After the second flowering, the bush can be rejuvenated.
- Wintering. Winter hardiness is a trait of Nana variegat weigel. But despite this, it is impossible to leave the plant in the cold without protection.
Proper preparation of a flower for winter consists of the following steps:
- water the flower well;
- spud;
- collect all the branches together and incline them to the ground;
- further, this "structure" must be covered with a special material, for example, burlap and covered with snow.
You can take a closer look at the weigela of this variety further.
Weigela - description
Weigela is a close relative of honeysuckle, because they are related to the same genus. It got its name thanks to the German botanist Christian von Weigel. In natural nature, it grows in the southeast of Asia, in the Far East.
The culture is a deciduous shrub with straight shoots. Its dense foliage can reach a height of 1.5-3 meters. The leaves have a volumetric range of colors, garden types collide with variegated, circled and even scarlet plates. The leaves are in the opposite order on the petioles of different lengths. The edge of the shell is saw or serrated. The large-root system is fibrous with a huge number of narrow, longish roots. Does not form root offspring.
The buds of the planting are very fascinating and beautiful. They are located in the depressions of the upper leaves separately, or accumulated in a loose, cyst-like inflorescence of 5-6 pieces. The flowers have a small stalk. The petals are painted in warm colors - pink, yellow, cream, scarlet. Corolla bell-shaped or funnel-shaped with 5 petals. From the longish pharynx, 5 stamens and an elongated pistil are visible. The stigma looks like a small cap or a ball that gives the flowers originality. The flowering stage is 3-4 weeks twice a season. The first time flowering begins in May-June, the second time in August-September.
As it blooms, the corolla changes the color, making the tones the deepest and brightest. The fruit of the plant is considered to be a bivalve box filled with small angular seeds. They store germination rates for 1–2 years. Since the bush does not create root layers, it can be propagated using cuttings or seeds.
Weigela hybrid ornamental shrub varieties and their photos
Here is a photo and description of hybrid weigela varieties.
Weigela hybrid (W. x hybrida) has a graceful spreading crown and luxurious flowering. Shrub up to 1.5 m tall. It is especially beautiful during flowering. Flowers are tubular-funnel-shaped, single or collected in a loose inflorescence. They bloom on young leafy shoots. They are pink, purple, white, pinkish-violet and violet-carmine of various shades, they have a delicate, pleasant aroma. The following varieties are popular in Russia:
"Bristol Ruby" ("Bristol Ruby"). The height of the bushes is 2.5-3 m, the crown diameter is up to 3.5 m. The description of this variety of weigela fully corresponds to the name: the flowers of this shrub are ruby-red at the edges, sometimes with an orange-red center. Blooms in June-July.
"Gustave Mallet" ("Gustave Mallet"). Shrub up to 2.5 m tall. It has large (up to 5 cm in diameter) pink-carmine flowers with a wide white border. Blooms in late May.
"Debussy" ("Des-boisii"). Shrub 2.5-3 m tall. Blooms profusely in the second half of May.
"Alba Plena" ("Alba Plena") is a low evergreen shrub 20-40 cm high, with a crown diameter of 40-45 cm.
Pay attention to the photo - this variety of hybrid species of weigela has a compact, spherical crown, white flowers, double:
Decorativeness manifests itself during abundant and prolonged flowering, in August-September, 50 days. Winter-hardy. It is better to cover young plants for the winter with a dry leaf and spruce branches "Allegro" - height 40-50 cm, rarely 60 cm, crown diameter 50 cm. The crown is compact, dense. Blooms in Moscow from early August to late September. The flowers are simple, shiny, carmine red. Winter-hardy.
"Annemarie" - height 40-50 cm, crown diameter 60 cm. The crown is loose, wide-bushy. Blooms from late July to late October. The buds are purple-red, later the flowers become dark pink. Terry flowers.
"Boskoop" - height 30-40 cm, crown diameter 40-50 cm. The crown is compact. Leaves are copper-orange-red in autumn and winter. Blooms from August 25 to late September. The flowers are lilac-pink, simple.
"Carmen" - height 30-40 cm, crown diameter 40-50 cm. This variety of weigela hybrid type has a wide-oval or spherical crown. Blooms in Moscow from early September to mid-October, 45 days. The flowers are simple, pink-purple.
"Darkness" - height 30-35 cm, diameter of a compact, dense, spherical crown 40-50 cm. It blooms from the end to a bush or 1 m2. Top dressing with mullein is allowed from April to June (0.5 liters of solution per bush).
