Weigela (Weigela florida ‘Verweig 6’ SONIC BLOOM)

Features and Characteristics

Weigela florida is native to northern China, Korea and Japan. It is a dense, rounded, deciduous shrub that typically grows to 6-10’ tall and may spread over time to as much as 12’ wide. Branching is somewhat coarse, and branches on mature shrubs tend to arch toward the ground. Funnel-shaped, rose pink flowers (each to 25” long) bloom profusely in spring, with a sparse and scattered repeat bloom often occurring in mid to late summer. Elliptic to obovate, medium green leaves (to 5” long) with serrate margins retain good color throughout the growing season. Insignificant fall color. Fruit is inconspicuous. Flowers are attractive to hummingbirds.

The genus name Weigela honors Christian Ehrenfried Weigel (1748-183- , German professor at the University of Geifswald.

The specific epithet florida means “freely flowering”, in reference to the flowering habit of this species.

‘Verweig 6’, commonly sold under the trade name of SONIC BLOOM, is an upright mounded reblooming cultivar that typically produces a floriferous bloom of lipstick red flowers in May with subsequent waves of rebloom from mid-summer to frost. On average, this shrub grows to 4-6′ tall and as wide. U.S. Plant Patent Applied For (PPAF).