When to plant and prune Weigela
Weigela flowers from mid May to mid June and the dates below cover planting, flowering and the pruning window.
Planting, flowering and pruning by region
Weigela is grown to the calendar rather than to the frost, so the same dates apply across the whole UK and every region below reads the same. Where a plant’s timings do follow the frost, Plot shifts them from the Midlands and Lowland Wales baseline using Met Office average frost dates.
| Where you are | Plant | In flower | Prune |
|---|---|---|---|
| South West Coast and Cornwall | early October to mid November | mid May to mid June | late June to mid July |
| South Coast and Channel | early October to mid November | mid May to mid June | late June to mid July |
| Greater London (Urban Heat Island) | early October to mid November | mid May to mid June | late June to mid July |
| South East and Home Counties | early October to mid November | mid May to mid June | late June to mid July |
| East Anglia | early October to mid November | mid May to mid June | late June to mid July |
| Midlands and Lowland Wales | early October to mid November | mid May to mid June | late June to mid July |
| Wales and West Coast | early October to mid November | mid May to mid June | late June to mid July |
| Northern England | early October to mid November | mid May to mid June | late June to mid July |
| Scotland Lowlands and Central Belt | early October to mid November | mid May to mid June | late June to mid July |
| Scotland Highlands and Islands | early October to mid November | mid May to mid June | late June to mid July |
| Northern Ireland | early October to mid November | mid May to mid June | late June to mid July |
| Channel Islands and Isle of Man | early October to mid November | mid May to mid June | late June to mid July |
Growing notes
Arching stems hung with funnel-shaped pink, red or white flowers from late spring into early summer, sometimes with a lighter second flush. 'Bristol Ruby' reaches around 1.5-2.5m; compact cultivars stay under 1.5m and suit smaller gardens or large pots. Sun or light dappled shade - avoid full shade.
At a glance
- Spacing
- 150 cm between plants
- Eventual height
- 200 cm
- Eventual spread
- 200 cm
- Hardiness
- H6
- Sun
- Full
- Frost tender
- No
- Grows in a container
- Yes, 40 litres or more
- Balcony rating
- 2 out of 5
Pruning: what to avoid
Weigela is RHS pruning group 2 and flowers on the previous year's wood - prune straight after flowering in summer. Winter or spring pruning removes the shoots that would have flowered, which is why an annually 'tidied' weigela never blooms well.
Pruning group
RHS pruning group 2: after flowering cut flowered shoots back to strong young growth and take out a proportion of the oldest stems at the base; responds well to hard renovative pruning if needed
What usually goes wrong
- poor flowering in full shade
- scorched foliage on variegated and purple-leaved forms in hot dry sun
Related guides
Timings cross-checked against RHS guidance for weigela.