Weigela 'Victoria'
Compact Purple-Leaved Flowering Shrub
Overview
Weigela 'Victoria' is an enchanting deciduous shrub that brings dramatic colour and charm to any garden setting. This compact beauty combines striking purple-bronze foliage with masses of deep pink trumpet-shaped flowers, creating a stunning display from late spring through early summer. Perfect for today's gardens, 'Victoria' offers exceptional ornamental value with refreshingly low maintenance requirements.
Key Features & Benefits
Stunning Foliage Contrast: Rich purple-bronze leaves provide a dramatic backdrop that makes the deep pink blooms absolutely pop with colour.
Compact Growth: Maintains a neat, upright habit that's perfect for smaller gardens and mixed borders without overwhelming neighbouring plants.
Pollinator Magnet: Deep pink trumpet-shaped flowers attract bees, butterflies, and other beneficial pollinators to your garden.
Long Flowering Season: Blooms prolifically from late spring until early summer, with occasional repeat flowering through the season.
Hardy & Reliable: Tough, old-fashioned shrub that's built to last with minimal fuss once established.
Plant Specifications
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Plant Type: Deciduous flowering shrub
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Mature Size: 3-4 feet tall and wide
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Growth Habit: Compact, upright, bushy habit
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Hardiness: Fully hardy in the UK
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Growth Rate: Moderate
Flowering & Seasonal Interest
Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May-June), with occasional repeat blooms
Flower Colour: Deep pink trumpet-shaped blooms that contrast magnificently with the dark foliage
Flower Form: Small clusters of funnel-shaped flowers on short side shoots
Seasonal Changes: Purple-bronze foliage provides interest throughout the growing season, with autumn colour adding further appeal
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 very light shade, though flowering may be reduced and foliage colour less intense.
Soil Preferences
Easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils. Remarkably tolerant of clay soils and urban pollution. Adapts to a wide pH range but prefers slightly acidic to neutral conditions.
Watering Needs
Water newly planted shrubs weekly during the first growing season to establish strong roots. Once established, weigelas are quite drought tolerant, though they perform best with consistent moisture during dry spells.
Fertilising
Apply a balanced general-purpose fertiliser in early spring before new growth begins. Avoid over-fertilising, as this can reduce flowering and make plants more susceptible to winter damage.
Pruning
Prune immediately after flowering to maintain shape and encourage next year's blooms. Remove about 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
Mixed Borders: Excellent backbone plant for perennial borders, providing structure and colour contrast
Specimen Planting: Makes a striking focal point when planted individually in smaller gardens
Foundation Plantings: Ideal height and spread for foundation plantings around homes and buildings
Container Growing: Compact size makes it suitable for large containers on patios and terraces
Wildlife Gardens: Perfect for pollinator-friendly gardens and wildlife habitats
Cottage Gardens: Fits beautifully into informal, cottage-style garden schemes
Companion Planting Ideas
Complementary Plants: Pairs beautifully with:
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Silver-leaved plants like artemisia or dusty miller
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Yellow flowering perennials such as coreopsis or rudbeckia
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Light green foliage plants for dramatic contrast
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Spring bulbs for extended seasonal interest
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 choice
Urban Tolerance: Excellent tolerance of air pollution and urban growing conditions
Why Choose Weigela 'Victoria'?
This remarkable cultivar represents the perfect marriage of form and function in garden design. The dramatic purple-bronze foliage provides year-round structural interest, whilst the profuse deep pink blooms create spectacular seasonal displays that garden visitors will remember long after they've left.
'Victoria' is particularly valuable for gardeners seeking maximum impact with minimum maintenance. Once established, this hardy shrub requires little attention beyond annual pruning, making it ideal for busy gardeners who still want a beautiful, wildlife-friendly garden.
The compact size and upright habit make 'Victoria' incredibly versatile, fitting comfortably into both contemporary and traditional garden designs. Whether used as a specimen plant, foundation planting, or part of a mixed border, this weigela delivers consistent performance year after year.
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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£8.99 |