Weigela florida "Foliss Purpureis"

Sorry - more questions ! :o

Now I have chopped back the Bridal Wreath you can see the state that the Weigela is in. It didnt look too bad under the bush as it was poking out from one side so you couldnt see all the woody parts.

This is what its like now ......

From left



From right hand view



Overall view




As you can see its all woody on the parts that have been underneath the big bush for so long. When you cut into the wood its dead. Some parts are green when you cut into it but not many.

Is it worth trying to save this or taking it out and replacing ?

What would anyone else do with it ?

 

Hi,

Yes it is worth trying to save your plant.
Give it a feed with artificial fertilizer around the roots and then a good covering with garden compost (if you have any) or compost from a bag.

I have both the the varigated and the bronze types, one thing I have found is that if you let them grow too big, with stems over a quarter of an inch thick they die back and do not perform very well!

So every season immediately after flowering I cut them down very hard, and give the feed and a top dressing with compost!
They soon recover and send out lots of fresh shoots which flower the next season!

Nothing to lose, give it a try and good luck.

Cheers

 

Yes, agree, worth saving this plant. It should rally back well in time. I have two of the bronze type and 5 french laces and one just regular kind, (forgot name).

 

Thanks I will give it some feed etc and add some compost.

Should I try to trim off any of the dead wood ? Will it re-sprout from there or not ?

I also have the verigated one - just next to it Think they are lovely !

 

Should I try to trim off any of the dead wood ? Will it re-sprout from there or not ?


Hi,

From dead wood, no!

But if the stems/branches have only been cut back below any foilage that was growing then it should resprout, given time.

Cheers

 

Everything on the left hand side is all dead wood though. Have cut it in a few places and its definately dead :( ... so I am going to end up with a one sided bush ?

 

No it will bush out from the base and cover any dead stuff. Don't worry it will grow upwards and outwards. Sometimes when you cut the dead wood right down it sprouts from the base. Also it is now getting light which it was deprived of before

 

Ahhh ok ..... so should I leave it as it is and see how it comes back next year or should I continue to cut off all the dead wood on the left hand side ?

 

I would lop all the dead wood and the stuff leaning over. It will sprout again. If you leave all that stuff it will look odd. It'll take a couple of seasons but it will look great with all it's new growth.

They have a fancy term for it now 'Shrub Renovation'. It just means cutting the hell out of it. Right down to a few inches. I love doing it. It never fails to thrill me seeing all the new growth. Easily pleased I am

 

Thanks

Am VERY good at 'cutting the hell' out of something lol

Will give it a go tomorrow, worse case it doesnt survive but then its been swomped by a huge bush for the last 10 + years so am suprised its still alive at all !

 

Just sharing a picture of one of my shrubs in question. I used it as a filler and a back drop color to compliment the foreground blue hosta and the white flowers of the variegated mock orange bush and later will compliment the yellow wax bells that will bloom in September. And yes even in shade it does bloom pretty.
It has been in that position going on 4 years and thrives nicely.

 

I pressume thats the 'bonze type' ... its a very lovely colour. Not seen one like that before either

Certainly looks in way better condition than mine lol

Just had a look through and found some photos of what it was like when the overgrown bush was swomping it ... kinda gives you a good idea of its living conditions for the last 10 + years !

 

Yes, its the bronze type. I think it retains its depth in color better because of the shade. The flowers are a hot pink in mid-spring.

 

The flowers on mine looked like this ....




Not seen the verigated one in flower yet as only planted that this year.

 

Found a picture of the shrub with the blooms on it. Looks like it blooms before the mock orange.
And this is the closest I have in a pic to it. You can see the color of it ok. The blue hosta really shows off well with it here.