Contents
Planting and caring for weigela in the open field must be carried out correctly so that this shrub feels good in gardens in Our Country. It is not so difficult to create optimal conditions for weigela if you know what this oriental guest is used to.
Features of growing weigela
The choice of a suitable place, compliance with the rules of planting and conscientious care of the weigel will respond with picturesque flowering, which is confirmed by numerous photos taken by amateur gardeners.
What does weigela like and dislike
Weigela prefers open, well-heated sunny areas, protected from cold winds. These characteristics of the weigela landing site must be taken into account first of all, because in the future it will be impossible to influence them. The quality of the soil is also of great importance for weigela: it should be light, water and breathable, fertile. The soil is suitable slightly alkaline or neutral. Shrubs should not be planted in lowlands or in places where groundwater is located too close to the surface, since the delicate root system of the plant does not tolerate excessive moisture.
How to save weigela seedlings before planting in the ground
If weigela seedlings were purchased in winter, then before planting in open ground, certain conditions must be created for them. To prevent plants from growing ahead of time, they are stored in a cool place without access to light. There are several ways to keep seedlings until spring:
- Cuttings can be dug on the site, laying on the ground at a slope and sprinkling the root system and crown with earth.
- Wrap the seedlings in a thin plastic film, make holes in it for air access, wrap it with newspaper, fix the bundles with rubber bands, put them in plastic boxes and put them in a cool place, for example, on a glazed balcony or in a cold cellar.
- Store cuttings on the bottom shelf in the refrigerator.
- If the seedlings are large, put them in containers with moistened sand.
What can be planted next to the weigela
Abundantly flowering weigela looks great in solitary plantings, but it can be successfully combined with other beautifully flowering shrubs or flowers. Plants in such compositions should be selected taking into account the timing and duration of flowering, size, growing conditions and care features. Weigela looks picturesque even between flowering, so other flowering cultures will look good against the background of its foliage. Weigela looks picturesque in single plantings against the background of large trees or on lawns. The combination of weigela with conifers, for example, with juniper, cypress or larch, looks very impressive. Combine it with barberry, rhododendron, berry yew, lilac, various herbaceous plants. In hedges, weigela will be complemented by mock orange, kolkvitsia, action, bean. You can plant it under tall trees – this technique is often used by landscape designers to create multi-level compositions from plants of different heights. It should be noted that excessive shading has a bad effect on the flowering of weigela.
Where and how to plant weigela
The most important thing when growing weigela is to choose a place that is suitable in terms of illumination and protection from drafts and observe the terms and rules of planting and care. Weigela will react to an unfavorable location or a gross violation of agricultural technology with poor flowering or its complete cessation.
When to plant weigela in the ground: in spring or autumn
In order for the heat-loving weigela to take root and gain strength before the onset of winter cold, it should be planted in the ground in the spring (March-April). By this time, the earth is already warming up enough, and the seedling has not yet begun to grow. If a stalk with a closed root system is purchased, you can plant it in a permanent place until June, the main thing is to try to catch it before the intense heat.
Choosing the right place
Considering the natural needs of weigela, it is best to choose a place for planting in elevated areas, the flooding of which is excluded. The place for it should be well lit and protected from strong cold winds, which can damage flowering. It is allowed to plant this shrub in the shade of tall trees with a loose crown, but it should be borne in mind that in low light, the weigela will not bloom so abundantly and brightly.
What kind of soil does weigela like
Weigela will grow well in slightly alkaline or neutral light and fertile soils. Loams are best for her. Weigela Middendorf feels comfortable in slightly acidic peat soils. The main thing for the root system of this plant is the water and air permeability of the substrate.
How to plant weigela
Seedlings at the age of three years are best suited for planting, because the younger the weigel, the better it takes root. Plant cuttings in open ground in several stages:
- A nutritious soil mixture is prepared from turf, humus and sand, or from fertile soil mixed with compost. For each seedling, 100–130 g of nitrophoska are added to the mixture.
- Planting pits are dug with a length and width of about 0,5 m and a depth of 20 cm more than the height of the seedling’s earthen coma. The denser the soil, the larger the size of the pit should be, sometimes its depth can reach 1 m.
- Drainage is poured to the bottom – broken brick or gravel sprinkled with sand, the layer should be about 15 cm.
- The stalk is pulled out of the container and the roots are carefully examined, the rotted areas are cut off, the plant is carefully placed in the center of the pit.
- A seedling with an open root system is treated with a root formation stimulator before planting. At the bottom of the pit, the prepared nutrient soil mixture is poured and the roots of the plant are carefully distributed.
- The plant is buried so that the root neck is not too deep.
- The soil is compacted so that there is no air left between the roots, watered and topped up with a nutrient soil mixture.
- The seedling is mulched with manure, sawdust or peat.
- Young plants shade from direct sunlight for several days after planting.
Weigela of large varieties is recommended to be planted so that the distance between the bushes is at least 150 cm. For varieties of medium height, 80 cm is enough. When planting in trenches, plants can be placed every 50 cm.
How to transplant weigela to another place
If it becomes necessary to transplant a weigela, it is necessary to act very carefully and with great care, since an adult plant does not take root well in a new place. A transplant is justified if the place is initially chosen incorrectly and there is no way to improve the situation in less radical ways.
When is the best time to transplant weigela
Just as in the case of planting cuttings in open ground, it is recommended to transplant an adult plant in April, when the soil has already thawed, and the vegetation process has not yet begun. A weigela transplant in the fall is highly undesirable, since in this case its fragile root system will not have time to adapt to a new place before the onset of winter cold.
Site selection and soil preparation for weigela
The place for transplanting weigela is chosen according to the same criteria as for planting new plants:
- a large amount of sunlight and protection from cold winds;
- lack of stagnant moisture in the soil;
- light fertile soil.
The site for weigela has been prepared since autumn. The plant prefers slightly alkaline soil, therefore, if the soil is acidic, it is limed. Weigela Middendorf feels good in a slightly acidic substrate; if necessary, the land for it is enriched with peat. Sandy loams that lose moisture too quickly are mixed with clay and peat.
If it is not possible to avoid planting shrubs on heavy soils prone to swamping, sand, brick chips, fine gravel are added to them, and drainage systems are sometimes built.
The substrate is fertilized with compost or manure, as well as complex mineral dressings. All the components that need to be added to the soil are mixed, scattered over the site and dug onto the shovel bayonet.
If the site is too low, they make small mounds that can be easily arranged into an alpine hill.
In the spring, about 14 days before planting, pits are prepared.
How to transplant weigela in spring
The technologies for transplanting an adult plant and planting a seedling in open ground are practically the same: they also prepare a nutrient soil mixture, dig and drain planting pits, bury, water and mulch a newly planted plant.
A bush transplant has the following distinctive features:
- In the spring, the bush is very carefully dug around the perimeter, trying not to damage the root system, and pulled out along with an earthen clod.
- The bush is placed in the hole so that its root neck is at the same level as in the same place.
- Immediately after transplantation, all damaged, dry and old branches are cut off.
Further care for a bush that has transferred planting to a new place also does not differ from caring for other weigela plants, with the only difference being that it is necessary to prepare such a plant for winter especially carefully.
How to care for weigela
With the correct planting of the weigela, caring for it will not be too laborious, and already from the age of 3, a young shrub will delight with numerous delicate flowers twice a year.
The main care for this type of plant is watering, top dressing, pruning, loosening and prevention of diseases and pests. Of particular importance in the climate of the middle zone is the preparation of weigela for winter – mulching the near-trunk circle and the construction of a winter shelter.
Watering Schedule
This shrub does not need a lot of moisture and does not tolerate stagnant water at the roots. Abundant watering is needed only 1 time per season, in early spring, immediately after the opening of the weigela. If after wintering the plant looks withered and lifeless, moderate watering is still carried out, since in most cases the plant is restored and may bloom already in the same season.
In summer, in hot weather, plantings are watered once every 1 days; on ordinary days, it is enough to moisten the soil no more than twice a month. If the shrub is mulched, it can be watered even less often.
If a dry autumn has set in, moderate watering continues throughout the season, until the first frost. Pre-winter watering not only nourishes the root system, but also prepares it for winter.
How to feed weigela in spring and summer
If the place for the weigela is properly prepared and all the necessary fertilizers have been applied, the weigela can not be fed for two years after planting. Further, the plant needs top dressing that stimulates the vegetation. Weigela care in early spring begins even before the snow has completely melted. Then the first top dressing is made: urea, potassium salt, superphosphate are scattered around the bushes. With melt water, the nutrient components of fertilizers fall directly to the root system of plants.
In order for the weigela to bloom profusely, and the young shoots to strengthen by winter, it is recommended to carry out a second top dressing at the end of spring, when buds form on the plant. At this time, 2 tbsp. are added under each bush. l. superphosphate.
In between these basic top dressings, it is useful to apply natural fertilizers: mullein, wood ash, humus, compost.
If desired, you can spray the crown with special foliar solutions, which are sold in specialized stores or garden centers. It is enough to carry out such top dressing 2-3 times per season.
Trimming
Weigela needs sanitary, shaping and rejuvenating pruning. In early spring, damaged shoots are removed; in the middle of summer, after the completion of the first flowering, they form a crown and cut off the inflorescences. Autumn pruning of weigele is not carried out so as not to damage the shoots on which flower buds form.
Pests and diseases
With good care, weigela rarely gets sick, but pests can be dangerous. Most often it is invaded by aphids, caterpillars, thrips and spider mites. Intense heat and low humidity increase the risk of these insects infesting the plantings. To combat them, toxic drugs are used, for example, Keltan, Nitrafen or Rogor. To completely get rid of insects, it is enough to treat the infected bushes twice with one of these insecticides. Safer for the environment are water infusions of wormwood, hot pepper, garlic or potato tops.
Sometimes the roots of the shrub infect the larvae of the May beetle or the bear. You can suspect their presence by yellowing and wilting of the leaves shortly after planting the seedling. Aktara or Karbofos solutions will help get rid of these pests.
If weigela plantings have suffered from bacterial or fungal diseases, such as gray rot, rust or spotting, they should be treated with Bordeaux mixture.
For prevention purposes, during the blooming of the leaves, the bush should be sprayed with a 3% solution of Topsin.
Conclusion
Planting and caring for weigela in the open field is not difficult. The shrub belongs to unpretentious species and requires no more attention than most flowering crops. Care of this plant is aimed at improving flowering; its decorative qualities can surprise even an experienced grower. The wide possibilities of using weigela in landscape design make it more and more popular with gardeners in our country, regardless of the region, and if the rules of cultivation and good care are observed, the abundant bright flowers of weigela will be a special pride of the garden for several decades.