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Weigela florida 'Foliis Purpureis'
Compact Deciduous Shrub with Purple-Flushed Foliage
Overview
Weigela florida 'Foliis Purpureis', also known as Purple Weigela or 'Java Red', is a stunning compact deciduous shrub that brings rich colour and reliable beauty to any garden setting. This exceptional variety combines attractive purple-flushed bronze foliage with masses of charming rosy-pink flowers, creating a sophisticated display from late spring through early summer. Perfect for smaller gardens and urban spaces, this hardy shrub offers maximum visual impact with refreshingly low maintenance requirements.
Key Features & Benefits
Distinctive Foliage: Beautiful bronze-green leaves that mature to purple-green, providing striking colour contrast throughout the growing season.
Compact Growth: Lower growing variety with a neat, spreading habit that's perfect for smaller gardens and restricted spaces.
Abundant Flowering: Produces thousands of funnel-shaped rosy-pink flowers with pale pink-white interiors that create spectacular displays.
Weather Tolerant: Known for exceptional hardiness and weather tolerance, ensuring reliable performance year after year.
Pollinator Magnet: Bell-shaped flowers attract bees, butterflies, and other beneficial pollinators to your garden.
Plant Specifications
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Plant Type: Deciduous flowering shrub
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Mature Size: Height 0.5-1m spread 1m-1.5m
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Growth Habit: Low growing, spreading, with gracefully arching branches
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Hardiness Zones: Fully hardy
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Growth Rate: Moderate
Flowering & Seasonal Interest
Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May-June)
Flower Colour: Dark pink to rosy-pink trumpet-shaped flowers with pale pink-white interiors
Flower Form: Clusters of single, bell-shaped flowers emerging from carmine red buds
Foliage: Dark purple-green, oval and tapered leaves up to 2.5 inches long with attractive bronze tinting
Seasonal Changes: Bronze-green spring foliage matures to rich purple-green, providing colour interest throughout the growing season
Blooming Pattern: Flowers appear on previous year's growth
Growing Conditions & Care
Light Requirements
Thrives in full sun for best flowering and foliage colour development. Will tolerate partial shade, though flowering may be reduced and purple foliage colour less intense in shadier conditions.
Soil Preferences
Easily grown in any fertile, well-drained garden soil. Adaptable to various soil types including clay, loam, and sandy conditions. Prefers well-drained conditions but tolerates a wide pH range.
Watering Needs
Requires consistent moisture during establishment. Once mature, shows good drought tolerance but performs best with regular watering during extended dry periods.
Fertilising
Apply balanced general-purpose fertiliser in early spring before new growth begins. Avoid over-fertilising, which can reduce flowering and compromise the attractive foliage colouration.
Pruning
Prune immediately after flowering to maintain shape and encourage next year's blooms. Remove approximately one-third of the oldest canes annually to promote vigorous new growth. Avoid autumn pruning as this removes next year's flower buds.
Garden Uses & Design Ideas
Small Urban Gardens: Compact size makes it ideal for city gardens and restricted spaces
Mixed Borders: Excellent backbone plant for perennial and mixed shrub borders, providing structure and colour contrast
Foundation Plantings: Perfect scale for planting around homes and buildings
Specimen Planting: Makes an attractive focal point when planted individually
Container Growing: Suitable for large containers on patios and terraces
Wildlife Gardens: Excellent choice for pollinator-friendly garden designs
Companion Planting Ideas
Complementary Plants: Pairs beautifully with:
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Silver-leaved plants like artemisia or dusty miller for dramatic contrast
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Yellow flowering perennials such as coreopsis or rudbeckia
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Light green foliage plants to highlight the purple tones
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Spring bulbs for extended seasonal interest
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Ornamental grasses for textural variety
Wildlife & Environmental Benefits
Pollinator Support: Highly attractive to bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects during its extended flowering period
Low Environmental Impact: Minimal water and fertiliser requirements once established make it an eco-friendly garden choice
Urban Tolerance: Excellent tolerance of urban pollution and challenging growing conditions
Weather Resilience: Known for exceptional weather tolerance and reliability
Why Choose Weigela 'Foliis Purpureis'?
This remarkable cultivar represents the perfect solution for gardeners seeking a compact shrub that delivers both striking foliage and abundant flowers. The distinctive purple-flushed bronze leaves provide year-round interest, whilst the masses of rosy-pink blooms create unforgettable seasonal displays.
'Foliis Purpureis' is particularly valuable for smaller gardens where space is at a premium. Its compact, spreading habit ensures it won't overwhelm neighbouring plants, whilst still providing substantial visual impact. The weather-tolerant nature makes it an excellent choice for challenging climates or exposed positions.
Perhaps most importantly, this hardy shrub combines exceptional beauty with minimal maintenance requirements. Once established, it reliably produces stunning displays year after year with just basic care and annual pruning. The rich foliage colour and abundant flowering make it an ideal choice for creating sophisticated garden compositions.
The shrub's ability to attract pollinators whilst providing structural interest makes it perfect for modern gardens that balance aesthetic appeal with environmental responsibility. Whether used as a specimen plant or incorporated into mixed plantings, 'Foliis Purpureis' consistently delivers the refined beauty that makes gardens truly special.
Buying Shrubs from Jacksons Nurseries
At Jacksons Nurseries we sell a variety of shrubs both evergreen and deciduous with a variety of flowering times throughout the year. At certain times of the year our shrubs you buy from us may not look like the images shown on our website when deciduous leaves have fallen, the shrub has finished flowering or has been trimmed back.
Some leaves on evergreen shrubs can be damaged in winter by frost or harsh winds but in spring new leaves will readily replace those damaged. This is quite normal on many evergreen varieties and is preferable to plants grown with excessive protection that show cold shock once planted out and establish less satisfactory initially.
Availability: Stock availability figures are provided as a guide only. There is a delay between orders being placed and the plants being gathered by our pulling team. During this time it may be possible for a member of the public to purchase these plants from our Garden Centre, while this is rare it is a possibility and we will notify you of any problems as soon as possible. This figure may also include plants that have not yet be flagged as unsaleable.
Pre-order: Pre-order times are given as a guide only and may vary dependent on the growing season. Orders containing Pre-ordered products will be shipped as a single order when all items become available. Large orders may be part shipped, please contact us on 01782 502741 or email sales@jacksonsnurseries.co.uk.
* Please Note: Shrubs in 20 litre pots and above might require a pallet delivery starting at £79.99 per pallet. Depending on the exact pot size and height it may be possible to get approximately 5 plants per pallet at no extra cost. The maximum height we can dispatch on a pallet is 2.0m, this includes the height of the pallet and pot.
Shrubs are deciduous or evergreen woody plants, and often provide fragrant flowers, berries and foliage. They are good for structural framework, and they can provide a wonderful shelter and food source for wildlife.
Planting and Conditions
Container grown shrubs can be grown at any time of year. It is a little known fact that shrubs planted in the autumn and winter will be easier to look after than those planted in the spring and summer, because they will have time to establish and become hardy in the cooler months.
Plant the shrub at the same depth as it was in its original pot. Planting too deeply can result in root and stem rot.
One of the biggest causes of death in new shrubs is drought stress, so keep it well watered until it’s established.
Make sure you loosen the soil prior to planting. Most shrubs are tolerant of most soil types as long as it is fairly well draining.
Most shrubs will grow happily in containers, but they will be much more demanding on feeding and watering than shrubs in the ground would be. They will also need potting on every couple of years so that they don’t suffocate or become stunted in their pot.
Aftercare and Pruning
Once established, shrubs generally do not require much water. However, at first they need careful, frequent watering and should not be left to dry out.
Shrubs in the ground are generally not demanding and in most cases, annual feeding with general purpose fertilizer will suffice. Shrubs in containers may need more feeding; usually from early spring until late summer.
Shrubs also benefit from mulching in order to supress weeds, conserve moisture and provide vital nutrients. Mulch also greatly improves soil conditions. Shrubs can be mulched in late winter, after fertiliser has been applied, but it can be mulched through autumn to late spring as long as the ground is damp.
All shrubs benefit from dead-heading once spent flowers become apparent. Rhododendrons and Lilac especially benefit from the removal of dead flowers.
Some shrubs may show signs of reverted growth or ‘sporting’. This is where random shoots of different leaves associated with the plant’s parentage begin to appear. Most commonly this is where plants with variegated leaves sprout pure green growths instead of variegated ones.
To control reversion, remove reverted shoots promptly to discourage them. Reverted shoots are usually much more vigorous than the variegated ones, and thus should be completely pruned out and cut back into wood containing variegated foliage.
Potential Issues
Although shrubs are usually very robust garden plants, they can sometimes start to decline with no apparent or obvious reason.
This will start with browning leaves, which could indicate plant stress due to lack of water or waterlogging, an establishment failure or, in the worst case scenario, honey fungus. Another cause of leaf browning is a high salt content in the soil. This could be a natural occurrence, especially if you live near the ocean, or it could be from over fertilisation.
To remedy a high salt content, cut back on fertiliser and step up your watering regime for the next few weeks. If you live by the ocean, this will be harder to remedy—but stepping up your watering will help to wash some of the salt away all the same.
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£9.99 |