BOOM!

All of the fireworks a couple of weeks ago made me think of Sonic Bloom® weigela. Mind you, here in West Michigan, we had a downpour during fireworks hours, so I wasn’t kept awake afterward until 11:45 PM – which I discovered is how late you can legally set off fireworks at your home over the holiday weekend.  

Bloom or boom, most people will find at least one of them exciting. I’ll take Sonic Bloom® Pink weigela and a full night’s sleep.

Sonic Bloom® Weigela comes in a series of five that includes Sonic Bloom® Pink, Red, Pearl, and Pure Pink (a lighter pink). I know, Sonic Bloom Red® seems more “July 4 appropriate”, but I already posted about that one! So let’s take a look at its flashy sibling.

While regular weigela flower in spring and then just sit around the rest of the season, Sonic Bloom® Weigela (no matter the flower color) reblooms for a respectable summer flower display, too.

Sonic Bloom® Pink is a nice, deer-resistant shrub that makes an impressive, colorful low hedge that explodes with color. All weigela in the Sonic Bloom® line will grow best in full sun and get about 4-5′ tall.

Pruning reblooming plants.

Reblooming versions of old favorites can be a little confusing, especially with regard to pruning.

Many of us go with the traditional advice to prune spring-flowering shrubs immediately after flowering and to cut back summer bloomers in late winter and early spring. But what do you do with a plant that flowers in spring and again in summer and fall?

First off, don’t prune the plant back in late winter. Reblooming plants carry the spring flowers over from the previous season, so if you prune them back or they are damaged by harsh weather, the spring flowers will be gone.

It’s best to trim these plants immediately after their spring bloom. As with traditional varieties, pruning at this time means the plant has plenty of time to set flower buds for the following season.

Trimming reblooming plants back after the spring bloom also encourages the new growth, which is where the repeat summer flower buds are created. The plant may go through a rest period before reblooming, but it will rebloom if you don’t cut it back again and again.

Many rebloomers will flower again without trimming in spring, but if you do want to shape a plant, after the spring bloom is the time to do it.

Cultivate

I’m at Cultivate this weekend! The Proven Winners® ColorChoice® booth is #915, near the New Varieties Zone, but you probably won’t find me there. I tend to wander. I’ll be around until Tuesday, so if you’d like to meet up, shoot me an email at natalie@springmeadownursery<dot>com, and we can exchange telephone numbers.