I have the same issue here in New Jersey, Mine were planted in 2009. We had 70 degrees in Feb , then 18" of snow in one day in March. Im going to wait till mid summer to cut out the branches that have not leafed out. We still had some nights where it got into the 30's at night.

It's those late freezes - late March, early April - that got so many of my shrubs these last couple years.

odd how differnent the sonic blooms behave... I have 4 of those and they are one warm spell away from putting on a big flower display.. very few if any dieback branches

So I'm not the only one... not sure if I'll keep the W & R now. I don/t like they are dead-looking until the summer is almost half over... and I don't get the flowers either..

IMO, this is a very bad characteristic that was not advertised when I researched it.. I've learned the hard way that you cannot go by what the retailers post on their sites..

So what purple-leaf shrub would you use? I've have good success with barberry but have quite a bit on the property...

This looks like my replacement plant!

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=c422

Seems like W & R is very temperamental...

Talked to a reputable garden centre staffer and he asked me a bunch of questions from amount of wind to road salt exposure... it can be pretty windy here and I guess it is quite exposed, so perhaps that thats the problem... but he concluded that it could need some fertilization. Bonemeal was one suggestion.. To be honest I've never fertilized anything very much outside of my lawn. Thoughts? Could this be the issue? If so is it too late in the year to give them a shot of fert? I did just move all four shrubs so my cautious side is saying don't fertilize.

I am dealing with dead looking branches at the top of my one year old weigela as well? The mid to bottom half looks fine, and even has flowers coming in..but the tops are all bare? So I figured I'd wait a bit longer before I break out the pruners...I also have to royal purple smoke bushes I planted last year, and those have come back beautifully! So if you were still looking for some purple leafed shrubs, the purple smoke bush is gorgeous

Cathy, how old is your weigela?? It's gorgeous!

Nessdizzle, I have a royal purple smoke bush. The leaf color is great... the thing about them is they can get quite large.. The one I have is kept small because of the space. I don't hesitate to prune them hard in early spring because I don't need the flowers (I think the foliage is better than the flower) and I have read from a few reputable sources that they take very well to pruning.. even into a closely sheared hedge.. I agree, they are gorgeous. Could be an alternative.. but I am also considering the the Burgundy Candy ninebark. I have two right now and they remain a very rich, dark color from mid-spring to fall and they are compact.

Splaker I have 2 different types of ninebark growing in my yard and they're the most carefree shrub I've ever dealt with. They grow really fast, and don't req much tlc. I do find they look more dark brown/bronze with a touch of green than they do look purple though. I took this pick of one of mine from inside that's why you see my reflection AND I'm just noticing the downspout is under the bush as well which means my neighbors dog was in my yard again lol

looks like the summer wine ninebark?

I'm not sure tbh? I bought both my ninebarks on clearance for $3 at lowes...I had just moved here and ripped out all the old dead shrubs that were in the front of my house, but had no money to replace them lol so I figured I'd grab all the shrubs they had on clearance and see what they do...they said ninebark but I really don't rem which varieties they were? I tried asking here a couple years ago but it was too hard to identify because they were still so young...but they looked about 80% dead when I planted them that late fall, and they just took off the next growing season!! The one I took a pic of right there is more weeping and sprawling, where as my other one is more upright...I'll try to see if I have better pics in my camera roll...ok this is from last year..if not the year prior..it is bigger now...and those daylillies are not there anymore because the bush basically bullied its way around and daylillies had to be moved lol...I'll try to get a pic of my other one

These pics are both from last year..but here is my other ninebark

looks great!

Just be aware that Summer Wine can get to be quite large (but not as large as Diablo), more wide than tall. Mine are about 5 ft high and 6 ft wide. They seem to bloom on last season's wood so to have blooms you need to prune soon after flowering. The growth habit as they get bigger can be sprawling so judicious pruning from year to year is required. That said I love this shrub and would not be without it.

just to add another data point, my Wine and Roses Wiegela (2nd year) looks as bedraggled as yours. Mild winter, one late freeze. My thought was deer...