Korean weigela is a shrub found in the wild only on the Korean Peninsula. Its funnel-shaped flowers open yellow in spring and blush pink to lavender as they age. In the US it's grown only in a few gardens and arboretums, including the cultivar 'Canary', whose flowers stay yellow.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A deciduous shrub up to about 10 ft (3 m) tall.
- Leaves
- Opposite, oval to obovate leaves 1.5–4.5 in (4–12 cm) long, finely toothed, hairy on both sides, and nearly stalkless.
- Flowers
- Funnel-shaped flowers 1–1.5 in (2.5–4 cm) long, in clusters of 1–3. The narrow lobes are split almost to the base.
- Flowering time
- May–June in its native range.
- Fruit
- Slim, slightly curved capsules about 3/4–1 in (1.7–2.5 cm) long that split open from the tip in fall. The tiny seeds have narrow wings.
Look-alikes
Old fashioned weigelaWeigela florida
Old fashioned weigela has rose-red flowers from the start, and its calyx is split only about halfway. Korean weigela's flowers open yellowish and its calyx is split almost to the base.
Why they get mixed upWeigela florida and its hybrids are the weigelas most often planted in US gardens.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Sunny mountain slopes
- Forest edges
- Range
- Native only to North and South Korea. In the US it is grown in a few gardens and arboretums.
- Preferred conditions
- In Korea it grows on sunny lower slopes of mountains. It's rated hardy in USDA zones 6–7.
Growing it
- Care
- 'Canary' grows into a large shrub about 10 ft (3 m) tall and wide and was selected around 1994 from seed sent by Chollipo Arboretum in South Korea.
Name and classification
- Varieties and forms
- 'Canary' — a cultivar with soft yellow flowers that don't fade to red.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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