How to grow the five-color crabapple weigela? A detailed guide to cultivation and propagation methods

Weigela is a deciduous shrub of the genus Weigela in the honeysuckle family. Its flowering period can last more than two months. It is suitable for group planting at courtyard wall corners and lakesides, and can also be used as a flowering hedge or in group plantings along forest edges, dotting rockeries and slopes. So how do you grow the “five-color crabapple” weigela? How is it propagated?

I. Growth habits of weigela

Weigela is distributed in China's Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, northern Shandong, northern Jiangsu and other places. It grows in mixed forests or mountain-top shrub thickets at an altitude of 100-1450 m. It likes light, tolerates shade and cold, and is not strict about soil requirements. It can tolerate poor soil, but grows best in deep, moist soil rich in humus. It fears waterlogging, has strong sprouting ability and grows rapidly.

II. Cultivation methods for weigela

1. Timely fertilization

When growing weigela in pots, mix 3 parts garden soil with 1 part rice-hull ash, and add a small amount of barnyard manure and the like as base fertilizer. When planting, apply decomposed compost as base fertilizer. After that, every 2 to 3 years during the dormant period in winter or early spring, dig a trench around the roots and apply fertilizer once. During the growing season, apply fertilizer 1-2 times per month.

2. Pay attention to watering

During the growing season, pay attention to watering weigela. After it breaks dormancy in spring, gradually increase the amount of watering and keep the soil moist regularly. High summer temperatures and drought can easily cause leaves to yellow and shrivel and branches to wither. Maintain sufficient moisture and spray water to cool it down or move it to a semi-shaded, moist place for care. Water thoroughly 1 to 2 times per month to meet its growth needs.

3. Timely pruning

Weigela has a relatively long growing period. Before winter, the small branches at the top often do not grow fully and are very likely to dry up during overwintering. Therefore, before it breaks dormancy each spring, cut off the dried branches at the top of the plant as well as other old, weak, diseased and pest-infested branches, and shorten long branches. If seeds are not needed, promptly cut off the spent flowering branches after blooming to avoid consuming too many nutrients and affecting growth. For branches that have grown for 3 years, cut them off from the base to promote robust growth of new branches.

4. Pest and disease control

Weigela does not have many pests and diseases. Occasionally aphids and red spider mites cause damage, and they can be killed by spraying dimethoate.

III. Propagation methods for weigela

1. Seed propagation

Weigela seeds can be collected from September to October. Sow directly, or 1 week before sowing soak the seeds in cold water for 2-3 hours. Sow on a windless day with no heavy rain in the near forecast. The bed surface should be leveled and finely prepared. Sowing can be done by broadcasting on the bed surface or in drills, with a sowing rate of 2 g/sq m. After sowing, the soil covering must not exceed 0.3 cm in thickness. Keep the bed surface moist within 30 days after sowing, and seedlings emerge in about 20 days.

2. Cutting propagation

Variation types of weigela should be propagated by cuttings. Seed propagation makes it difficult to maintain the traits of the variation. The ground temperature should be 25-28°C, the air temperature should be 20-25°C, the air humidity inside the shed should be 80%-90%, and the light transmittance should be about 30%. Roots form in 50-60 days, and the survival rate is about 80%.

3. Layering propagation

Weigela can be propagated by layering during the growing season by pressing its branches into the soil. Usually after flowering, select lower branches for layering. Lower branches tend to be prostrate, and roots form and survive easily at the nodes.

4. Division propagation

Division propagation of weigela is usually carried out in early spring and in autumn and winter. It is generally done around the time of spring bud break in combination with transplanting. Dig out the entire plant, divide it into several clumps, and replant them separately.

The above is Tuliu.com's introduction to the cultivation methods and propagation methods of weigela. It is suitable for group planting at courtyard wall corners and lakesides, and can also be used as a fence or in group plantings along forest edges, dotting rockeries and slopes. Weigela has strong resistance to hydrogen chloride and is a good pollution-resistant tree species. Its flowering branches can be used for vase arrangements.