Weigela florida 'Java Red'

Quite compact at just 3 to 4 feet high and slightly wider, 'Java Red' is a slow grower, improving each season in form as well as bud count and overall beauty. It becomes nicely rounded, and is very floriferous even at a young age, beginning its season of glory in late spring in most climates (a bit earlier than many of its relatives) and continuing into summer.

The buds on this shrub are bright red, and they simply cover the plant, creating their own little mini-season of beauty. Then they burst open into long, funnel-shaped pink blooms with darker exteriors and bright pink throats. Very handsome, and the butterflies do flock in to take a closer look.

But it's the foliage that's really amazing on this sun-loving shrub. It opens all manner of deep violet and maroon, very showy -- and then keeps this color, with only flashes of deep green to remind you of how things could be! This makes it the perfect companion to all green-leaved shrubs (i.e., everything else in the garden!), as well as a charming specimen or grouping on its own.

As 'Java Red' matures, its branches become wonderfully textured, an effect you really can't appreciate until this deciduous shrub drops its foliage in late autumn. The winter show of gnarled stems and furrowed branches is fascinating, especially on older specimens. You will love 'Java Red' year-round, in other words!

Quite drought-tolerant once established, 'Java Red' is also happy in the heat and humidity of our long American summers. In fact, nothing much fazes it, which is perhaps why the Royal Horticulture Society gave this shrub the Award of Garden Merit. (Or maybe it was that amazing purple foliage!)

Are Weigelas becoming a bit old-fashioned for today's gardens? We hope so -- that should make their appeal all the greater for discriminating gardeners. They are simply delightful shrubs, no trouble whatsoever, happy among everything from Rhododendronto Berberis, Native to China and Japan (don't let that florida species name fool you!), they are left alone by most diseases and pests, happy to bloom for many weeks, and more elegant and lovely with each passing season. 'Java Red' is one of the original classics, great with newcomers as well as fellow veterans! Enjoy this fine shrub. Zones 4-8.