Dark Horse Weigela
Weigela florida 'Dark Horse'
Height: 3 feet
Spread: 3 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 4a
Description:
A stunning spring-flowering shrub, featuring magenta pink trumpet-shaped flowers, attracts birds and butterflies; bronze foliage is quite striking and contrasting; perfect for foundations, groups in borders, or a low hedge; needs full sun
Ornamental Features
Dark Horse Weigela is bathed in stunning clusters of pink trumpet-shaped flowers with yellow anthers along the branches in late spring. It has attractive dark green foliage edged in deep purple which emerges burgundy in spring. The pointy leaves are highly ornamental but do not develop any appreciable fall color.
Landscape Attributes
Dark Horse Weigela is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a mounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.
This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Dark Horse Weigela is recommended for the following landscape applications;
Planting & Growing
Dark Horse Weigela will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. It has a low canopy. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years.
This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.
Dark Horse Weigela makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
