Types of Weigela by Habit

Choose weigela by the job first: a classic spring flush, a dark leaf, a dwarf variegated mound, or a rebloom series. Beautybush is a different plant.

Choose classic, dark leaf, dwarf, or rebloom first

Lock the job first, then pick a plant in that group. [1] Flower color is not a type. Compact size and rebloom are separate traits — a dwarf is not automatically a Sonic Bloom. [2]

Kinds we hold

Classic spring

Classic spring shrubs such as old-fashioned weigela and Bristol Ruby put on one heavy late-spring show, then go quiet. Plan mature size: the species can reach 6 to 10 feet.

Dark foliage

Dark-leaf kinds such as Wine & Roses and Spilled Wine are grown for purple foliage all season, with pink tubes in spring. Full sun keeps that leaf color. [3]

Variegated dwarf

Dwarf variegated kinds such as My Monet stay about 1 to 2 feet and are grown for cream-and-green leaves more than flower volume. Florida Variegata is a larger variegated shrub, not a My Monet-scale mound.

Reblooming

Sonic Bloom kinds such as Sonic Bloom Pink and Sonic Bloom Red are bred for a strong spring flush and a real second round through summer. That rebloom does not need deadheading.

Other weigela

Remaining Weigela in this group. Check mature size and whether the tag promises rebloom before you site it.

Site, water, and prune stay on How to Grow Weigela. Hole and spacing stay on Planting Weigela.

Not types — beautybush and flower color

• Beautybush (Kolkwitzia amabilis) — same honeysuckle family, different genus. Pink tubes in late spring, but it is not Weigela. [4] Shop that genus if the tag says beautybush.
• Pink, red, white — flower color, not a type card. A red Sonic Bloom and a pink classic still follow different bloom calendars.
• Weigela bush / weigela shrub — the same deciduous shrub, not a second species.

Pick classic, dark leaf, dwarf, or rebloom. Beautybush is Kolkwitzia, not a Weigela type.