Weigela florida Electric Love

Weigelia 'Electric Love' combines a very long bright red flowering period, foliage tinged with purple, and a small size: it is an ideal small bush for ornamenting small spaces and perfectly suited for container gardening. The red flowers stand out beautifully against the foliage, and the plant is decorative for seven months out of twelve. A versatile variety, with vibrant colours, easy to grow even for beginners.

Weigela are Asian plants, originating from northern China, Japan, and Korea. They belong to the caprifoliaceae family, just like honeysuckles. Weigela Electric Love® (ZR1' USPP30065) was elected "plant of the year" in 2019 at Canada Blooms. It is a very hardy calcicolous bush (preferring limestone soils). It has a well-branched, generally rounded, dome-shaped habit. This variety eventually forms a bush measuring about 60 cm in height by 70 cm in width. Its funnel-shaped flowers are a beautiful bright red, enhanced by a white style that protrudes from the corolla. They are borne in corymbs at the ends of the previous year's branches and bloom continuously between June and September. This nectar-rich flowering attracts many pollinating insects. Its deciduous foliage is composed of lanceolate-shaped leaves. The leaf blade, toothed at the edges, changes from very dark purple to dark green veined and washed with purple. It falls in autumn.

Hardy to -20°C, Weigela 'Electric Love' thrives in sunny locations, which promotes abundant flowering and good foliage colouration. It can tolerate ordinary soil, provided it is moist and well-drained. Its well-branched habit, neat appearance, and rich colours make it a highly ornamental bush that brings any setting to life. In a small flowerbed, for example, you can pair it with dwarf abelias, Physocarpus, Japanese spireas such as Spiraea japonica 'Double Play Big Bang'. It also looks very nice with a pink ground cover rose like 'Bees Paradise Pink' or a white one like 'Opalia'.