Midnight Sun™ Weigela

Size

Make your fall garden tidy but loaded with color with Midnight Sun Weigela. This small mounded shrub will leaf out each spring, followed by pretty pink flowers in a trumpet shape. But it stuns even more in fall, when its foliage turns bright orange to red before dropping for winter. This new weigela stays in a small, rounded form, growing to no more than 1.5 feet tall and wide, so it makes a perfect complement to taller plants or a low border to burst with fall color. Plant several of these pretty little shrubs or feature one in a container. Hardy in zones 4 through 8, Midnight Sun can take cold in winter but green up again in spring. The foliage is deep green in summer before turning as temperatures cool. And all this happens with little need to do much more than water all season and give it a light pruning after it flowers in spring. Its deer resistant, too. Midnight Sun Weigela Care If you want to take advantage of the reds and oranges in Midnight Suns fall foliage, plant the bush in full sun. Its colors do best with at least 6 hours a day of sunlight, though it will survive fine with some shade. Weigelas prefer soil that is somewhat acidic, but a balanced pH should be fine. Be sure the soil drains well. Keep your weigela moist with regular watering until established. After that, it needs little water except in periods of drought. Mulching with a few inches of organic mulch will help retain moisture and cool roots in summer, plus feed the plant slowly. Add a balanced slow-release fertilizer to the base of the plant each spring. Simply prune out dead branches each spring and then trim the plant to shape once flowers fade. Midnight Sun Weigela Spacing Spacing of weigela depends on whether you want a low border effect or just a grouping. Place the plants about a foot apart to ensure they have room to grow and breathe.