Planting and caring for weigela outdoors: tips

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Weigela is an ornamental flowering shrub. Compliance with planting rules and proper care in the open field will ensure the flowering of the weigela in spring and late summer. Gardeners will be able to fully enjoy pink, scarlet, cream, yellow or snow-white bell flowers.

It is noteworthy that the shade of weigela inflorescences is constantly changing. The newly opened corollas are pale in color, but over time they acquire a brighter and more intense tone.

Landing in open ground

The most suitable time for planting weigela is March or April.

Before buying, you should inquire about the age of the plant. The best adapt to new conditions are specimens that are more than 3 years old.

Although the shrub for the country garden is not considered particularly capricious, the planting site must be given due attention:

• choose a site on a hill. A prerequisite is the abundance of sunlight. In the lowlands, the plant will freeze;
• the flower bed must be protected from northern winds and powerful air currents, which have a detrimental effect on leaves and inflorescences. It is best to plant shrubs on the south side under the cover of walls;
• the soil should be neutral or slightly alkaline, nutritious, light, loose, moisture-permeable.

The planting process is pretty simple. You just need to follow the recommendations below:

• Dig a hole 30-50 centimeters deep, 40x40 centimeters wide and long. Loosen the bottom a few centimeters. If the ground is poor or too dense, the hole should be between 60 centimeters and 1 meter;
• line the bottom with a 15 cm drainage layer. It can be broken brick, gravel, coarse river sand;
• to increase the survival rate of planting material, treat the roots of the seedlings with a liquid to stimulate root formation;
• prepare a fertile potting mix with fertilizers. Combine 2 parts of sand, 2 parts of turf and 1 part of leafy humus. If the land is characterized by a lack of moisture, high-moor peat can be added;
• place the seedling in the hole, carefully spread the roots in the depression to avoid voids. Cover with earth, compact carefully;
• the root collar should not go deeper than 1-2 centimeters. It is best if it is flush with the surface of the ground when it settles;
• pour plenty of water. When it is absorbed, top up the soil;
• Lay a layer of mulch around the bush. It can be peat chips, wood chips, well-rotted horse or cow dung;
• Cut the shoots of the seedling in half. If a flowering specimen was used for rooting, the procedure is not necessary.

If you decide to refine the site with several shrubs, the distance between the holes for planting large varieties is 2-3 meters. For low-growing varieties, the interval is 1-1.5 meters.

How to keep a seedling

As already mentioned, weigela planting in open ground is carried out in March-April. If you purchased a seedling in the fall, proper care will help preserve the planting material until spring.

There are 2 ways:

1. Dig in the seedling in the garden at an angle so that you can cover the branches with earth. After the snow melts, plant it as described above.
2. Plant the bush in a pot. Wait for the foliage to drop and store in a cool place at 1 ° C-6 ° C. Watering should be sparse, but the earthen coma should not be allowed to completely dry out. At the end of February, when the buds appear and growth begins, move the weigela to a well-lit place, slightly increase the watering. In April, you can add top dressing. In May, when the last frosts recede, plant the bush in a place prepared on the site.

Try to protect the plant from direct sunlight for the first 2 weeks.

Care features

After the spring planting of the weigela, it is enough to remember a few agrotechnical rules. Outdoor shrub maintenance is not a big deal:

• water regularly. Drying out of the earthen coma leads to a deterioration in flowering and prevents the qualitative development of the plant. After moistening the soil, cover it with a layer of sawdust, husk or peat mulch;
• remove weeds in a timely manner. This is done very carefully so as not to damage the root system of the bush;
• loosen the soil as it compresses. It is recommended to deepen the shovel to a depth of no more than 8 centimeters;
• fertilize the soil 3 times a year. If weigela was planted in soil with compost, the bush does not need feeding for the first 2 years. After this period, the very first feeding is carried out in the snow, before the beginning of the growing season. Gardeners are advised to add superphosphate, urea and nitrogen fertilizers. The second stage of feeding is carried out during the formation of buds. It is best to use chlorine-free potassium products or complex preparations with an equal ratio of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. The last fertilizer is applied at the end of summer. They should contain a large percentage of potassium, which is responsible for the ripening of shoots and helps the plant to survive the cold more easily;
• in the fall, it is advisable to install wooden supports. They will help to avoid deformation of the bush under a thick layer of snow. You will also have to shake off the branches after a snowfall;
• if the winter is not very snowy, it is recommended to bend the branches to the ground and cover the shrub with lutrasil or tar paper.

To make the weigela easier to endure the first winter on your site, it is advisable to wrap it with kraft paper or spunbond. Spruce branches or a thick layer of dried leaves need to be laid on the trunk circle.

Transfer

It is undesirable to transplant a bush. But such a need may arise if you initially chose the wrong place for planting weigels in the open field, and even the correct, scrupulous care does not allow the plant to develop.

The procedure is carried out in several stages:

1. Dig up the bush carefully, being careful not to damage the root system.
2. Peel and examine the roots. With the slightest damage, signs of disease, decay, plaque and other pathological changes, there is no point in transplanting. It is better to plant the stalk in a new place.
3. Transfer to the prepared area completely repeats the steps of the first planting.
4. Do not perform the procedure in the fall. The probability of plant survival during this period is extremely low; it will simply die.

Pruning

Like any weigela shrub, it needs pruning. In April, you need to remove shoots that are dry, deformed, frozen, broken off, or simply thicken the bush too much.

Formative pruning is carried out in July. You can also remove twigs that have stopped blooming. This will activate re-flowering.

Remember that rejuvenating pruning is done every three years. Old and thickening branches are cut at the root. The rest are shortened by a third.

Diseases

Weigela rarely gets sick and the plant is resistant to pests. However, it can be affected by aphids and worms. If you find a problem in the early stages, you can get rid of it by treating the crown with insecticides or infusions of hot pepper, garlic, potato tops.

Yellowing and wilting of seedlings may indicate damage to the roots by the larvae of the bear or the May beetle. To destroy pests, it is enough to water the soil with Karbofos or Aktara.

To treat bacterial and fungal diseases such as rust, gray mold and spotting, treat the shrub with Bordeaux liquid.

Weigela is completely unpretentious, and even inexperienced gardeners can grow it on their own plot. For this, it is enough to follow simple agrotechnical recommendations for care.