Weigela.... stems are all brown...

16 years ago

should I prune it back? I am not sure if it is dead - I should really cut one of the brown branches at the bottom to see if there is green - but I guess one 32 morning either browned the leaves or the plant is dying. I don't remember it looking this bad last year...

Thanks - Carrie

Question really is : Would it hurt the shrub if I cut it back now, because it really looks UGGGGLY!?

Carrie

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Comments (8)

Dibbit
16 years ago
Carrie, to my knowledge none of the various Weigelas are evergreen - the leaves do fall off in the winter. I would guess that this year it got caught by the long, warm fall, and the whole shrub didn't harden off for the winter, so the leaves were suddenly killed by the freeze. The leaves should fall off soon - if they don't, wait a few days for them to dry up, and gently run your hand down the branches to remove them. I would wait until early spring, just before or just at bud-break, so you can be sure what is winter-killed and what is alive among the branches before you prune anything off. If you cut the shrub back now, and get a really cold snap, the possible dead ends may go all the way to the ground. If it's a mature shrub, it should survive, but it may not, and it will be set back. Do a scratch test on the branches - if the cambium layer, just under the bark, is still green as it should be on a deciduous bush, then the branch is alive and should leaf out fine come spring. If it is brown all the way into the woody layer, then that part of that branch is dead - you could trim back to where the cambium is green, or leave the ends as a protection for the rest of the shrub for the rest of the winter.
carrie630
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks so much for the good info. I am still learning about weigelas and did remember AFTER I posted my question, that the leaves do turn brown and eventually fall off... It was just a "shock" to see it variegated and so pretty one day and the next day... NOT

Carrie
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
16 years ago
gosh i love you newbies... lol ... but don't worry.. we have all been at that point ....

besides the fact that tomorrow is December.. even in NC .... plants NEVER die overnight .... it can NOT be fine one day ... and brown and dead the next .... which made you .. moments after the post.. remember that dormancy ... leaf loss .. is a function of weather ...

dont worry... the learning curve will get there .... just give it a moment to think about all us older folks.. who didn't have a computer to whip off a question.. and had to spend the rest of the winter worrying... for lack of knowledge ...

all that said.. weigalia are fully zone appropriate up here in 5... so don't give yours another thought down in z7 ...

ken

PS: so ... working on the learning curve ..... what will stimulate/motivate releafing in spring .... hours of sunlight? ... or soil temperature.. care to guess??? .. heck.. i might not even know the actual answer .... lol
carrie630
Original Author
16 years ago
LOL - I AM one of those "older gardeners"... but not familiar with Weigela and also I used to be in NY and now in NC.... big difference! Thanks for the info.

Now... ask me about growing flowers from seed, I can help, since that area is where some of my best experiences in gardening are.

Thanks for the kind post - Carrie
Donna
16 years ago
Carrie, I can relate. I have a beautiful variegated weigela that gives me heart trouble on a fairly regular basis. Whole branches can and do die...suddenly, and for no apparent reason. My variegated weigela is the only weigela I have that does this....go figure. The scratch test is your best indicator, as dibbit said. This is a shrub that responds well to renewal pruning in late winter: late January to mid February here. (Just in case you don't know, remove 1/4 to 1/3 of the oldest branches from the shrub each year, cutting them at ground level.). Your weigela will respond with fresh new growth come spring. Mine seems to appreciate a top dressing of composted manure in the spring too. And you are so right. Gardening in the south is dramatically different than up north. Some summers I miss my old Indiana home with peonies and campanulas that are toast here. And then December comes, and my camellias bloom and it's 75 today....
carrie630
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks, donna - but for some reason, I thought that the flowers come from old wood... so I guess I am wrong. If I cut it to the ground, I would get blossoms in the spring? Confused...(not good with shrubs, I'd say...)

Carrie
Dibbit
16 years ago
Carrie, you can prune Weigelas back hard to control height or you can leave the bush to get as big as it wants. They do flower on old wood, but if you prune back the branches that flowered once they are done, the ones that didn't flower should so so later in the summer - not so profuse, but pretty. Taking out a third of the stems annually (in late winter) at ground level will rejuvenate the bush as new suckers grow up and will control the height, as will pruning back hard every other year.

If a bush is totally out of control, and far too big - if that's so, why is it there? I can only assume you inherited it! - then you can sacrifice the new flowers and cut it to the ground (or to 6-8"). The new growth should flower starting the next spring, and you can begin the rejuvenation pruning the next winter/spring.
carrie630
Original Author
16 years ago
Not too big, it's a good size - I just wanted to double check that it flowers on old wood - Thanks - your info was helpful

Carrie