How to Grow Weigela florida? A Full Breakdown of the Latest Cultivation Methods
Weigela florida is also known as five-color crabapple, mountain sesame, and sea fairy flower. It is a deciduous shrub of the genus Weigela in the honeysuckle family, with dense branches and leaves and brilliant flower colors. Its flowering period can last more than two months. It is suitable for group planting at courtyard walls and lakesides, and can also be used as a flower hedge or in group plantings along forest edges, dotting rockeries and slopes. Now let us take a look at the cultivation methods for Weigela florida!
Growth Habits of Weigela florida
Weigela florida is distributed in China's Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, northern Shandong, northern Jiangsu and other places. It grows under mixed forests or in mountaintop shrub thickets at altitudes of 100 to 1450 m. It likes light, tolerates shade, and tolerates cold. It is not strict about soil requirements and can tolerate poor soil, but grows best in deep, moist soil rich in humus. It fears waterlogging. It has strong sprouting ability and grows quickly.
Propagation Methods of Weigela florida
1. Sowing: Weigela florida seeds can be harvested from September to October. Sow directly, or 1 week before sowing, soak the seeds in cold water for 2 to 3 hours. Sow when there is no wind and no heavy rain in the near future, and the bed surface should be leveled and finely prepared. The sowing method can be broadcast sowing or drilling on the bed surface, with a sowing rate of 2 grams per sq m. After sowing, the soil covering thickness must not exceed 0.3 cm. Keep the bed surface moist within 30 days after sowing, and seedlings emerge in about 20 days.
2. Cuttage: Variant types of Weigela florida should be propagated by cuttage, as seed propagation makes it difficult to maintain the traits after variation. The ground temperature should be 25 to 28°C, the air temperature should be 20 to 25°C, the air humidity in the shed should be 80% to 90%, and the light transmittance should be about 30%. Roots can form in 50 to 60 days, and the survival rate is about 80%.
3. Layering: Weigela florida can be propagated by layering during the growing season by pressing it 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: Division propagation of Weigela florida is usually carried out in early spring and in autumn and winter. It is generally done around spring bud break in combination with transplanting. Dig out the whole plant, divide it into several clumps, and replant them separately.
Cultivation Methods of Weigela florida
1. Fertilizing: For potted Weigela florida, mix 3 parts garden soil with 1 part rice husk 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 at the roots and apply fertilizer once. During the growing season, fertilize 1 to 2 times each month.
2. Watering: Pay attention to watering during the growing season of Weigela florida. After spring bud break, gradually increase the amount of watering and keep the soil moist regularly. In summer, high temperature and drought can easily cause leaves to turn yellow, shrink, 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 each month to meet its growth needs.
3. Pruning: The growing period of Weigela florida is relatively long. Before winter, the small branches at the top often do not grow fully and are very likely to dry up during overwintering. Therefore, before spring bud break each year, remove the dry branches at the top of the plant as well as other old, weak, diseased, and pest-damaged branches, and shorten long branches. If seeds are not needed, promptly cut off the remaining flower branches after flowering, so as 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. Pests and diseases: Weigela florida does not have many pests and diseases. Occasionally aphids and red spider mites cause damage, and dimethoate can be sprayed to kill them.