Weigela with coloured leaves Final Trials Report 2009 – 2011 Trials Office The Royal Horticultural Society Garden, Wisley, Woking, Surrey, GU23 6QB Trial No. 1756 1 RHS Trial of Weigela Introduction to Weigela Weigela is a genus of around twelve species of deciduous shrubs. They originate from East Asia, being found in scrub and woodland margins. They are primarily grown for their flowers, which appear in late spring and early summer, however, the varieties in this trial are those with coloured leaves. The variation in size makes them versatile plants able to be accommodated in both shrub and mixed borders. Weigela are fully hardy and grow in any fertile, well drained soil in sun or partial shade. Objectives The objectives of the trial were: To identify the best and most distinctive cultivars and recommend the Award of Garden Merit To establish correct nomenclature and obtain a permanent record through herbarium specimens, photographs and written descriptions Judging The trial was judged periodically over three years by the Woody Plants Trials Assessment Panel. They judged the plants on the following criteria; Flower : Foliage : Habit : Overall Impression Entries There were 39 entries in the trial, consisting of three plants. They were submitted by gardens, nurseries and individuals from the UK and the Netherlands. A full list of entries can be found at the end of this report. Cultivation Planting took place in June 2008 through a porous membrane to keep down weeds and reduce maintenance of the trial. No fertiliser was added during the trial, although the soil was found to be lacking slightly in nitrogen. It was considered that Weigela prefer poorer soils. Irrigation pipes were laid for watering. Two of the three plants of each entry were pruned after flowering. One plant was hard pruned; cutting stems close to the base of the plant. The other plant was pruned as would be considered common practise for Weigela; cutting stems to a strong bud or young growth. The third plant was deadheaded but left unpruned. It was found that the plants that were pruned kept a tidier, more attractive shape than the plant that was only deadheaded. This plant became more straggly and spreading as the trial went on. Pest and Disease Frost damage was the main problem encountered during the trial. This burnt the edges of the leaves which remained brown for the rest of the season. The main Trial No. 1756 2 problems encountered with Weigela in general are leaf and bud eelworm and honey fungus but these were not encountered in the trial. Other Findings This trial was also part of a Euro Trial programme. Entries 1-26 were also grown at nine other sites across Europe. Results from these sites will be combined and analysed and a separate report will discuss the findings. Plants Receiving AGMs During Trial The following are the plants thought to fulfil the Award of Garden Merit criteria during the trial and to be worthy of receiving the award. The criteria which a plant needs to fulfil in order to receive the award are: excellent for ordinary garden use available reasonably resistant to pests and diseases of good constitution essentially stable in form and colour reasonably easy to grow Hardiness ratings are as follows: H3 – hardy outside in some regions; needs frost-free protection in winter H4 – hardy throughout the British Isles Plants Awarded AGM W. florida Wine and Roses = ‘Alexandra’ AGM (H4) 2011 [Trial No. 20] votes 7-0 Flowers: late spring and early summer Height: 2.5m; Spread: 2.5m Upright to arching bush. Olive green leaves with a dark brown flush. Dark red buds opening to pink flowers “Bright flowers. Great foliage” Sender: New Place Nurseries Ltd Trial No. 1756 3 Reconfirmed AGMs W. ‘Florida Variegata’ AGM (H4) 2011 [Trial No. 6 ] votes 6-1 Flowers: late spring and early summer Height: 2m ; Spread: 2m Floriferous open bush. Grey-green leaves with grey-yellow edges. Tip of edges tinged red. White flowers, lightly blushed pink. “Reliable variegated form.” Sender: Liss Forest Nurseries Ltd W. ‘Praecox Variegata’ AGM (H4) 2011 [Trial No.9 ] votes 7-0 Flowers: late spring and early summer Height: 2.5m; Spread: 2m Lightly arching, open bush. Mid-green leaves, edged white, young leaves paler and edged red at tips. Dark red buds opening to pink flowers, fading to white at edges. “Outstanding plant. Best in trial. Best variegation.” Sender: Liss Forest Nurseries Ltd W. ‘Red Prince’ AGM (H4) 2011 [Trial No.31 ] votes 5-0 Flowers: late spring and early summer Height: 2m; Spread: 2m Upright to arching bush. Mid green leaves. Red flowers. “Distinct colour. Best of the reds.” Sender: New Place Nurseries Ltd Trial No. 1756 4 Trial Index and Senders Details No. Name Sender 1 Weigela ‘Golden Candy’ Proud Plants 2 Weigela ‘Gold Rush’ Plantentuin Esveld 3 Weigela ‘Jean’s Gold’ RHS ex Ravensthorpe 4 Weigela ‘Looymansii Aurea’ Bridgemere Nurseries Ltd 5 Weigela ‘Verweig 2’ Cappuccino PBR National Collection, Sheffield Weigela 'Florida Variegata' 6 Liss Forest Nursery Ltd sent an 'Nana Variegata' 7 Weigela florida 'Suzanne' National Collection, Sheffield 8 Weigela florida ‘Sunny Princess’ RHS ex Embleys 9 Weigela ‘Praecox Variegata’ Liss Forest Nursery Ltd 10 Weigela 'Briant Rubidor' New Place Nurseries Ltd 11 Weigela florida ‘Kosteriana Variegata’ New Place Nurseries Ltd 12 Weigela florida 'Brigela' Moulin Rouge PBR Notcutts 13 Weigela „Wessex Gold’ Hunt's Court Nursery 14 Weigela florida 'Verweig’ Monet, My Monet PBR New Place Nurseries Ltd 15 Weigela ‘Minuet’ The Place for Plants 16 Weigela ‘Rumba' Macpennys Nursery 17 Weigela ‘Samba’ Plantentuin Esveld 18 Weigela 'Little Red Robin' Seiont Nurseries 19 Weigela ‘Bokrashine’ Naomi Campbell PBR Seiont Nurseries 20 Weigela florida ‘Alexandra’ Wine and Roses PBR New Place Nurseries Ltd 21 Weigela florida ‘Elvera’ Midnight Wine PBR H Geers 22 Weigela florida ‘Tango’ Darby Nursery Stock Ltd 23 Weigela ‘Victoria’ The Place for Plants 24 Weigela florida ‘Foliis Purpureis’ New Place Nurseries Ltd 25 Weigela florida ‘Verweig 3’ Minor Black PBR Bridgemere Nurseries Ltd 26 Weigela ‘Ruby Queen’ H Geers Wim van der Poel ex H 27 Weigela florida ‘Caricature’ Kolster Trial No. 1756 5 28 Weigela 'Kolmagira' Magical Rainbow H Kolster 29 Weigela ‘Evita’ The Place for Plants 30 Weigela 'Pink Poppet' New Place Nurseries Ltd 31 Weigela 'Red Prince' New Place Nurseries Ltd 32 Weigela 'Florida Variegata' Valkplant 33 Weigela 'Cumula' STRI 34 Weigela 'Taura' STRI 35 Weigela 'Vega' STRI 36 Weigela 'Ghost' Valkplant 37 Weigela 'Milk and Honey' Valkplant 38 Weigela 'Purple Rain' Valkplant 39 Weigela 'Nana Variegata' Valkplant N.B Names that are struck through have been checked by RHS Botanists Sender Details Bridgemere Nurseries Ltd, Bridgemere, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 7QB Darby Nursery Stock Ltd, Old Feltwell Road, Methwold, Thetford, Norfolk IP26 4PW Plantentuin Esveld, Rijnveld 72, NL – 2771 XS, Boskoop, The Netherlands H Geers, Laag Boskoop 104, 2771 GZ, Boskoop Hunt’s Court Nursery, North Nibley, Dursley, Gloucestershire, England, GL11 6DZ H Kolster Boomkwekerij, Laag Boskoop 100,2771 GZ Boskoop, The Netherlands Liss Forest Nursery Ltd, Petersfield Road, Liss, Hants, GU33 6HA MacPennys Nursery, 154 Burley Road, Christchurch, Dorset, BH23 8DB National Collection of Weigela, Botanical Gardens, Clarkehouse Road, Sheffield, S10 2LN Proud Plants, East of Eden Nurseries, Ainstable, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA4 9QN New Place Nurseries Ltd, London Road, Pulborough, RH20 1AT, W. Sussex Ravensthorpe Nursery, East Haddon Road, Ravensthorpe, Northampton NN6 8ES Seiont Nurseries, Pontrug, Caernarfon, Gwynedd County, LL55 2BB STRI = Silva Tarauca Research Institute for Landscape & Ornamental Gardening, Kvetnove namesti 391, Pruhonice, Czech Republic The Place for Plants. East Bergholt Place, East Bergholt, CO7 6UP Valkplant, Valkenburgerlaan 64, 2771 DA Boskoop, Neder Trial No. 1756 6 Source: Horticultural Trials and Relations, RHS Garden Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB E-mail: [email protected] More information about RHS Trials and other colour illustrated reports can be found on the RHS Website: http://www.rhs.org.uk/trials Trial No. 1756 7 .