So many purple plants…so many purple weigela. So why this one?
While Midnight Wine is a fine plant, there’s no denying that it’s a slow grower. That’s a pretty typical tradeoff for a dwarf plant, particularly one as petite as Midnight Wine®. While the plant was loved by gardeners everywhere, we were asked for something quicker to grow and fill in the landscape. That’s where Midnight Wine Shine™ comes in!
It boasts the same dark purple foliage you know and love about Midnight Wine® (similar to Wine & Roses® and Spilled Wine®) and the same small stature (1-1.5′ tall x 2-2.5′ wide), but it grows at a faster rate! For those with sunny spots needing a showy plant, this weigela is for you. Like other purple-leafed plants, gardens will full sun help this plant’s foliage reach its full-color potential.
The flowers of Midnight Wine Shine™ are better than the original, but this weigela is still a plant to choose for its foliage rather than its blooms. Luckily for you, its foliage is so stunning you won’t need large flowers to make an impact. Hardy in USDA zones 4-8, those in colder climates will appreciate its extra dose of winter-hardiness, making it less prone to tip dieback than Midnight Wine®. Midnight Wine Shine™ has everything you loved about the original, but now it’s better than ever!
And now for that clickbait…
An awesome new purple plant is the perfect excuse to visit with the Purple One. And the recently released new Director’s Cut of George Harrison’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is the perfect way to get your Prince fix.
It’s a bit like our Plant of the Week: an older song that brought a lot of joy to many people is now updated to speak to a new audience. The song in question is Harrison’s ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps.’
Full warning: you may tear up a bit. People on that stage who have left us, and how much George Harrison’s son looks like him. Yet the joy Dhani Harrison takes in watching Prince is delightful.
Go ahead. You’ve had a long week. You deserve this.