Weigela

Behind a pond-side bench, between two of the fruit trees, there's a rather large weigela. As with most of the large shrubs, it's not been 'properly' pruned for some time (that is, a few decades). This is problematic, as it's starting to outgrow its space, and lacks new growth from the ground to enable the older branches to be replaced—that is, it's a bit dead inside.

However, we've grasped the bull by the horns, and started a risky rejuvenation, as we did with the flowering currants, and will have to continue with the other large shrubs. It's risky, because if they don't form new branches from nearer the ground, they'll look awful, and will have to come out. However, if we don't do it, the plant will just get too large for the space, not flower well, be an unattractive shape—and have to come out. Better to risk it.

We gave it a general hair-cut, and removed or shortened most of the branches, some of them significantly, where they were eccentrically long, and then I crawled into it and cut out about a fifth of the old stems. It means there are some gaps in the canopy, and a large 'hole' in the front, but the theory is that the pruning will provoke strong new growth, hopefully from near the base, and the plant will start to rejuvenate. By doing this every year, the plant stays small(er), compact, flowers well, and fixed in a juvenile state. Effectively, the average age of any stem is around 3–4 years, as 1-in-5 is removed each year.

Newly pruned weigela  (bit bare at the front!) (© Ian 2012)