Dee, I have that plant and I did buy it from Bluestone in 2011. Mine have the chocolate color leaves now. I didn't remember what they looked like when I got them, but I found a photo of when they arrived. I'll have to go out and take a photo for you later of what they look like now. They've stayed smaller than I expected and they were slow to come back this spring and one of them lost the tips of some of the branches.

Hmmm, I do not have Midnight Wine but I have grown weigala florida follis purpureis for years (which looks very similar to PM's photo).....and have to say it is a hugely variable plant, changing colours throughout the year. The new growth is very much darker than the older expanded leaves when the plant is flowering. In fact, this changeability has been much exploited. It is a small, prostrate weigela which has a modest unassuming charm and also survives many years in quite dire conditions (seen frequently in the more inclement parts of the UK). I did look at the images of Midnight Wine and nearly fell off my chair as some of them appear hugely exaggerated.

I Googled images and the link below shows the dark foliage.

I don't order from Bluestone since they went to the coir pots but they always stood by their plants back when I did. I'd contact them about yours, Dee.

Here is a link that might be useful: Weigela Midnight Wine images

I have no experience with this particular plant, but lots of plants that get shipped in the dark in the box get very unhappy very quickly with the lack of light. I think they will get darker with planting, but I don't know how dark. Might depend on the amount of sun they get. You could pot them up in larger pots and sink them in the ground somewhere in full sun and see how they do, and then decide how they would look with the other plants you have.

Your weigela will get darker if planted in a sunny location with direct sunlight.....
If you plant your plant or any of the other burgandy coloured shrubs in the shade, they will go green......
Most plants need direct sunlight to keep their colour....for example, a purple leaf sandcherry will go green if planted in the shade.....

Ditto what ians_gardener said. They should get dark coloration over a little bit of time as they are exposed to full sun.

PM2, mine looked similar to what your photo shows, only even less purple in the leaves. You can imagine why, like campanula, I almost fell of my chair too, lol, after seeing images like what is in the google search that gardenweed posted. Most of them do indeed show dark foliage.

I didn't do a search BEFORE buying (shame on me, I guess) but I have to admit that even if I HAD, since the majority of the hits in the search show dark purple - or even mid-dark purple - I would have assumed the green-leaved photos in the search results were just those odd photos/hits that show up in any search. You know, like when you google images of say, Johnny Depp, and invariably there is some old man or funny-looking geek who is definitely NOT Johnny Depp, but comes up in the results anyway because somewhere in the description of the photo is the word "Johnny", lol.

Hmm, I don't know what to do yet. If these plants will indeed darken, I will keep them. If they will flip-flop back and forth on a regular basis (light in spring, darker later, etc.) they won't really work that well for what I need), and if it is indeed dependent on light, well, this is a half-sun, half shade spot, so they might not work after all.

I am very disappointed. I've been looking for a plant for this bed for some time - my heuchera Midnight Rose in this spot does not hold it's dark color well enough - and I admit I jumped on this little weigela right away, I was so excited. Like I said, should have done a bit more homework. Maybe I'll pot them up and see what they do before putting them in the ground in this spot.

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated!

Dee

I think you have some good points there, Dee. Half sun does sometimes have an effect on color of foliage with both the dark foliage plants and the gold foliage plants. I was putting mine in full sun, so I didn't pay attention to whether they report it lightens up in shade. I am going out later and I will take a photo of mine in full sun. Mine hasn't bloomed at all either and that's been in the ground since 2011.

I also wanted to suggest there is a new Ninebark out that is small. I think it has 'Tiny' in it's name? Also would an annual work for you? I was thinking of adding more dark foliage with dark sweet potato vine. I had Midnight Rose Heuchera in half sun and it has completely disappeared. I think it is my dry heavier soil.

Anyway, I'll post a photo later⦠:-)

Indeed, Ian, they certainly do grow darker leaves when exposed to sunlight ...but never, even with a million lumens, is this wee weigela going to get that matte burgundy foliage. Mine is also in sunlight and is a distinctly bronzed colour at present....but unlike cotinus, or ninebark, the green is never completely overshadowed.....but then again, I could be talking pants because selective breeding does definitely emphasise certain colour traits.
Do keep us posted....and maybe consider a plain old berberis as a foil for the chartreuse.
Edited to mention that the flowers are much smaller, more tubular and altogether more retiring than can be seen on older weigela varieties such as variegata or Bristol Ruby

This post was edited by campanula on Sat, Jun 14, 14 at 10:27

Except that the Berberis is considered invasive in New England.

The new Ninebark that is out is called 'Tiny Wine' if you want to use Google images to take a look at it.

It's pretty wet and dark out there right now for a photo, but I did measure mine so you could understand how small these plants are. I had one on the East side of a full sun bed and the second one on the West side. The East side plant now measures 9 inches tall. Pretty small. And the one in the West was not growing as well and it is less than 5 inches tall. Planted and not disturbed since 2011. I'm actually giving it this year to do something more than it's been doing to decide what I want to do with it.

Dee, I have a Weigela Wine and Roses in half day sun and it is a brownish green rather than a deep purple. I don't know how different Wine and Roses is vs. Midnight Wine. Every year I threaten to remove it, and then it blooms. I think I need to find an out of the way sunnier spot where I can enjoy the blossoms, but it will fade into the background when not blooming.
{{gwi:244971}}From June 9-10, 2014

I have Weigela 'Fine Wine'. I was out looking at it this morning and I'd describe the foliage as more brown than purple.

Sorry - was at work all day and couldn't respond earlier.

camp, I've looked into berberis but as PM2 mentioned, they are invasive and either recently banned in the state I live in or about to be. There is a list of supposedly "not as invasive" cultivars but in doing research I find that some say that even those are not good to plant. I can't tell you how many hundreds of times I have driven by beautiful specimens of them and wished I could just bring myself to plant them, but I can't.

PM2, I'm looking at the ninebark Tiny Wine. A bit bigger than I need, but I may pick one up for a different spot in this bed.

I can't tell you how long I've been looking for something for this spot. I just can't seem to find something that will really work. I thought that having boxwoods, hollies, and the heucheras would be enough contrast, but the boxwoods have turned out to be disappointingly pale green, and the heucheras as I mentioned don't hold their color. The hollies are a pretty good contrast but not enough of it. I don't even care about blooms (as a matter of fact I'd prefer no blooms) but just want that purple foliage.

This bed is actually at a friend's house, and she really loves the chartreuse we have in there (spirea Gold Mounds, hakone grass, some eunonymoush Gold Splash, and Captain Kirk hostas) and I don't think she feels the urgent need for some contrast as I do, which I guess is good - hey, she's very happy with the bed. But I really feel it needs something to make it pop. All the greens seem to be the same (rhodies and hydrangeas, azaleas, roses, and ilex glabra also in the bed).

Ideally, I'd have an evergreen deep purple shrub (everpurple? lol), but at this point I may have to settle for something either reddish or even just a dark green. I think the ninebark may do well in the back of the border, and I may just have to live with the heucheras. I saw an annual in another thread recently where someone was looking for something similar to me, and it was very nice (can't remember off the top of my head) but my friend is not a gardener and so a perennial would be better than something she has to replant every year.

The search continues, I guess. In the meantime, I'll pot up the weigelas and see how they do. One side of the bed is sunnier than the other (foundation bed - front door in the center) so maybe the weigelas will work there and we'll keep the heucheras in the shadier part. We'lll see. I guess it's a work in progress - like all gardens!

Thank you all so much for your input. I'll let you know how things turn out!

Dee

I feel the same way, Dee about Berberis. I would have liked to use them, especially some of the newer golden varieties, but I'm trying to get rid of everything invasive, not add any. I rarely see one in any of the local nurseries either, which is a good thing that they're not offered.

Off the top of my head, I haven't thought of something with purple foliage. These Weigela are brown and so are the Ninebarks. I hope you find something that works for you.

The sun came out finally. :-) Here's a photo as it looks todayâ¦. this is the 9 inch tall 'Midnight Wine'.

You could do worse than check out some of the really dark leaved angelicas - I have A,purpurea Vicar's Mead but I think I recall a rather good one at Annie's Annuals. These do keep really deep purple lacy foliage which stays constant in the umbels too...and would look entirely at home with the other plants you mentioned.
Libertia peregrinans has outstanding russet colouring, as has uncinia rubra(without the running tendencies of blood grass (imperata rubra).
Football just starting but will put my thinking caps on later (if not too despondent) and cogitate on dark leaved contrasts.....

My wine in roses color in full sun...

Bought on clearance..pitiful and half dead last year. Really surprised it survived the brutal winter.

LOL, thanks camp - understand what you meant completely. Hockey is my sport and my team just lost the Stanley Cup last night in double overtime. Quite despondent. :(

Thanks PM2 and lilsprout for the photos. Yes, everything does seem more brown/reddish than purplish, but that may work. Anythiing but more green, lol! PM2, the height on the weigela doesn't bother me - I have the heucheras there now and they (the foliage at least) doesn't get much higher than your nine-inch weigela! This bed is a bit unusual in that the house sits lower than street level. The front yard is not very big, but dips down like the side of a bowl to the house, so sometimes it's hard to see things in the bed. However, this is for the front of the bed so anything between a foot and two feet is good.

I guess I am going to go back to the drawing board and do more research, and perhaps broaden my color palette! Campanula, thanks for the recommendation of angelicas. I am not too familiar with them so I will look into them as well.

Dee

Dee, I used to watch hockey when Bobby Orr was playing for the Bruins. It's been that long. lol My kids watch actual football, so I've ended up watching it more than other sports. I suspect Campanula you are talking about soccer?

Dee, that sounds like a challenging site to garden in, if the land slopes down below street level in a bowl shape to the house. I wonder if they have drainage issues and water running down toward the house?

I was just thinking of another thread, where Green_go posted a photo of a Weigela 'Shining Sensation' that she described as purple foliage. I can't think of any 'ever purple' shrub. :-)

Dee, have you looked into any ligularias at all? If water flows into that spot it might do ok. I don't give my ligularias any extra water and they are not in moist spots at all. One in particular that has great color and a bit of heft is 'Britt Marie Crawford'. Mine is in afternoon sun, so she sulks a little then, but is fresh looking all other times. I can't tell from this thread if you are looking for a shrub or a perennial, or just anything with some darker color with staying power.

PM2, I've been a hockey fan since the late 70's. Let's go Rangers! My daughter and son both inherited my love of the sport and took it one step further - they both play!

You know, this garden is very interesting. The soil there is naturally really good soil. I hardly amended it. She had a few hostas in front, and two hollies, which are still there. I brought the beds (one on either side of the door) out about 6 more feet, removed the grass, and really did very little to amend it. Things grow like crazy there. I honestly don't understand it, lol.

And it gets morning sun, but it has got to be the hottest morning sun I ever felt in my life! Even with some morning shade from two cherry trees in the front yard. I like to garden early, and even then, the sun is so darn hot. I often wonder if it's because of that slope, and that maybe the heat kind of "collects" in front of the house. There are not really any water issues in the house because the land continues to slope down on either side of the house to the back yard, although I think that because the house is there in mid-slope, the foundation bed keeps a nice moisture level; it's like the house stops just enough water to keep those foundation beds just right.

The stuff I planted for her grows amazingly well here. We actually had to remove some spireas because they are getting to be more than six feet across (so much for the 3-4 feet wide stuff!) and I've brought the beds out farther twice in two years and moved things away from each other. The boxwoods are growing well, the hostas are large, the hakone is doing great, and despite the half day sun things are thriving - I don't really know what's up, but it makes me look like a great gardener, lol!

My only beef with the garden is that it's all roughly the same shade of green. There are varying textures, which is good - the hakone, the hostas, the spirea, heuchera, etc. - but I really feel it needs that contrast, more than the heucheras provide. Not a lot of bloom right in front. The bed continues along the driveway on one side and there are roses, iris, azalea, a rhodie, a hydrangea, etc., so there is blooming there to change things up and add interest, but right in front of the house, other than a few (not enough, IMO) annuals we tuck in each year, there's not much other color.

Thanks for the suggestion of Shining Sensation. It is too big for this spot though. Maybe in the back of the border along the driveway....

Dee

Sorry Thyme - I was busying composing my way-too-long answer above while you posted, lol!

Hmm, funny but no, I haven't considered Britt-Marie... I guess I think of this as more of a bog garden plant, having put one in such a situation. As you see from my post above, this site, while nowhere near "wet", does seem to not need much extra water. Britt Marie is a bit bigger than what I wanted, but, worth looking into.

Honestly, if it weren't for winter interest right near the front door, I'd remove the boxwoods and put a Britt Marie right in their spot! But I feel I should leave something evergreen there, and whatever I end up putting in would therefore go in right in front of the boxwoods. Might not be a bad thing to hide the boxwoods til winter, when we need them, lol!

Thanks for the suggestions!

Dee

DonâÂÂt worry. Plant it in full sun and it will turn perfect dark burgundy color and will retain this color till frost. I have 3 of Midnight Wine weigelas. They always emerge greenish in late spring, but as the heat of the summer comes, they turn wonderful dark burgundy.
They donâÂÂt grow tall for me however - no more than 1 foot tall and wide and they die to the ground in the winter and then emerge from the ground every spring. So, I treat them as a perennials rather than shrubs. If you want something taller with the same coloration - I would recommend weigela Shining Sensation. It grows for me around 2-3 feet tall and wide and retains its dark burgundy color all summer long (unlike Wine and Roses which I hate - composted one this year)
This is my weigela Shining Sensation growing nearby Rainbow Sensation from last year:
{{gwi:244972}}
Two of my weigelas Shining Sensation and one Rainbow Sensation:
{{gwi:244973}}

green_go, thank you so much for the photos. I think the Shining Sensation will be a bit too big, but it does look good! Does this one die back to the ground as well? Do you have a photo of your Midnight Wine?

My problem is I bought these for a specific location, which is half sun / half shade, so I don't know if that is enough sun to bring out the color I expected from the photo which prompted me to buy them.

Dee

I could not find the photo from last year in their full glory, and this year they are somewhat slow to develop - I thought they were goners after this hard winter and there were no signs of life till almost the end of May. They are now growing, but still somewhat greenish, I think, in a few weeks they will turn their beautiful burgundy color.

No, Shining Sensation does not die to the ground - it is actually quiet hardy.

Dee, so, you were a Ranger fan, rivals of the Bruins, I remember some of the intense games we had. Your daughters play hockey, that must be really nice that you all share that interest. I wonder if they have any interesting in gardening too? :-)

That sounds like a very interesting garden. None of the negative effects of the slope that you would think and evidently all positives. I would imagine it is a different look out the front of the house at the garden too if it rises in front of you, while the back of the house continues to slope down and perhaps has a nice elevated view.

So all the same shade of green? But with the golds of Hakone and Spirea and are some of the Hostas variegated and gold? I do understand your dislike of all the same shade of green. I am often looking for a dark, dark green, to break up some of the mid green tones. And I like the golds and the variegated to break things up. The browns and burgundy leaves, I always think are going to add to the mix for interest, but IâÂÂm not always happy with it, so I donâÂÂt have a lot of it.

Hi, Thyme2 :-) YouâÂÂre lucky that you have some moist spots on your property. Mine really doesnâÂÂt have a one. Tree root zones and completely level with no low spots. So, there are a lot of plants that prefer moisture that I just skip over in a catalog.

GreenGo, IâÂÂve had the same experience with Midnight Wine this year. I wasnâÂÂt sure they were coming back either.

I had not heard of âÂÂShining Sensationâ before seeing your photo on another thread. ItâÂÂs a nice color and size. Do you shape them round and prune them a lot? Was there a reason you shovel pruned âÂÂWine and RosesâÂÂ?

No, PM2, sadly my kids did not inherit my interest in gardening. But they inherited my love of history, and my love of hockey, so two out of three ain't bad! Besides, I came to gardening later in life, so there is time for them yet too I guess! My son is a Rangers fan going to school in Boston, so sometimes things can get a bit rough for him, lol!

I know it sounds weird that I list all those chartreuse-foliaged plants and then say that the greens are all the same. Obviously, they are not exactly the same, and close up you can see the difference. But from a distance, the other greens are just not dark enough to contrast with the spireas, which are the main anchor of this garden. The hollies (Ilex opaca?) are nice and dark, but the boxwoods, the hydrangeas, the ilex glabra, the rhodie, the azalea - they are all kind of a mid-range green that just doesn't contrast enough with the spireas.

Again I want to thank you all for your input. You've all been a very big help. I think I will try a ninebark for the back of the bed, and maybe the Shining Sensation for the back as well (green_go, you sold me with those pictures!). In the meantime, I'll pot up the MIdnight Wine, put them in the spots I was thinking of, and see how they do.

Thank you!
:)
Dee

Sounds like a plan, Dee. Hope it all works out the way you want it.

I came to gardening late too, so you are right, odds are the gardening bug will bite your kids at some future point. And if it doesn't -- two out of three is definitely not bad! :-)

hello everyone! Just thought I'd give a quick update on my weigela. I only planted one of them, and it is doing well. Not growing by leaps and bounds, of course, but it looks healthy and happy and it IS turning somewhat darker. It is more of a brownish color than the beautiful rich purple that was advertised, and not as deeply or richly colored, but if the plant thrives and continues to be this color, I can work with it. I'm still disappointed, but it's not as bad as I thought.

Although, it does seem to be a somewhat floppy plant. I'm hoping next year when it grows from the ground anew it will be more upright. When things cool down a bit I will plant the other two as well.

I'm also looking into a ninebark Tiny Wine as well as the weigela Shining Sensation - green_go's photos really sold me on this one! Both the ninebark and the SS are too big for the spot where the Midnight Wines are, but I can use these bigger plants in the mid and back of the bed.

I keep meaning to get some photos of this bed. If and when I ever do I will post so you guys can see your input at work!

Thanks,
Dee

Glad it's acceptable for you Dee. I guess I've felt that way too. One of mine is looking really good this year and seems a little bit bigger, but I moved the second one in the spring because it was slower growing than the other one and I thought it might be location. So now they're both about 6 ft away from each other and will get the same conditions. The one I moved has settled in but hasn't grown much at all, so maybe next year it might start catching up? The one that is doing well, is almost to the size that I'd be happy with. It's adding what I wanted to the bed and couldn't be easier. I don't have a problem with the color either.

On the other hand, I've pretty much decided I may rip out my Weigela Wine and Roses. I've been paying attention this year and although it looked pretty good in the spring and flowered well, since then the foliage has faded and looks washed out. I have a gold leaved Kolkwitzia in the border and I wanted the dark contrast in the bed with it. I also have a dark leaved Hibiscus Kopper King on the other side of it and I tried something different with that this year. It has been a little gangly for me in past seasons, so this year I took someone's advice to cut it back when it was about a foot tall and it has become bushier and not gangly at all. Tons of buds on it, clean foliage for a change and I noticed it has a little gold tone to part of the leaves that is working really well with the gold Kolkwitzia, so I am thinking I'm going to put another KKing in place of the Wine and Roses I'm taking out.

My weigelas Midnight Wine - love their tiny size and the rich color:
{{gwi:244974}}

{{gwi:244975}}