Weigela hortensis

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves

Young leaves can be cooked and eaten, though they are considered a famine food used only when all else fails. The leaves are also used to make a tea.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It suits hardiness zones 7-9.

Asia, Australia, Japan, Slovenia,

How to Identify

A shrub. It grows 3 m high and spreads 3 m wide. The leaves are 10 cm long and have teeth. They are downy underneath. The flowers are rose pink. They are 35 mm long and in clusters of 3 flowers.

How to Grow

Propagation: Sow seed in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe if possible, otherwise in late winter or early spring. Prick seedlings into individual pots when large enough to handle and grow on in a cold frame for their first winter, then plant out in late spring or early summer. Softwood basal cuttings, 10–12cm long, can be taken in early summer and rooted in sandy soil in a cold frame. Half-ripe cuttings, 8–10cm with a heel, can be taken in July or August and rooted in a frame. Cuttings of mature wood from the current season's growth, 20cm long, can be taken in November and rooted in a sheltered outdoor nursery bed.

Medicinal Uses

None known

Other Uses

None known Special Uses Scented Plants

Weigela hortensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to Hokkaido and Honshu islands of Japan. A rounded shrub reaching 10 ft (3 m), and hardy in USDA zones 6 through 9, it is occasionally found in commerce.

Notes

There are about 12 Weigelia species.

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