Be patient.....your shrub is trying to become established....it is sending out roots rather than top growth.....also, your plant maybe to young to produce flowers....it will flower next year, so do not prune it.......the existing growth on your shrub are next year's flowering branches..

This post was edited by ians_gardener on Sat, Jul 5, 14 at 6:50

That's too frequent watering. I'll bet that everything else on the system is suffering, too. Allow the soil to dry out somewhat between cycles.

It's true that it takes a while for plants to establish a root system before they concentrate on top growth. For plants, the roots take top priority
after transplanting......be patient.

It's also important that you do not try to push your plant into top growth by fertilization. 'Normal growth' rather than 'accelerated growth' is what is healthy for any plant.

I would cut back on the frequency (not the duration) of the watering. Try twice a week....and turn it off for several days if you get a heavy rainfall.

A one gallon plant won't have a long establishment period at this time of year. Trust me, your plant IS growing.....just not where you can see it. :-)

see link.. especially in regard to watering ...

that said ... the only failure of this plant.. is your expectations .. and boy are they high ...

its growing roots... and that is good enough for now ...

i would EXPECT for NOTHING MORE ... for the rest of this year ... other than it not dying ... but if other things start happening.. i would be happy ....

next year... you will start to see some advancement ...

trees.. shrubs.. conifers... do not react and grow at a pace akin to annuals/perennials ... and there is nothing wrong with that.. unless your expectations are too high ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

This is a slower growing plant so you're not going to see much growth.

By one of my favorite Weigela. Be patient they have a nice season long color.

Why the hell are you watering them so much for? They like very well drained soil and don't do well in consistent damp soil.

At most you should water them once a week.

Thanks so much to everyone for your responses.

The reason it's being watered for 20 mins. every 2 days, is because it's growing on condominium common property and the irrigation system is set up for the other plants in that zone. I am not in control of it and would have a bit of a battle getting it changed.

Everything else in this newly created perennial border (coreopsis, campanula carpatica, max frei cranesbill, silver mound artemisia) are all doing fine with this schedule of watering. We live in a very hot, dry climate with little to no rainfall at this time of year.

The surface soil around the weigela does dry out. It is an inch or so beneath that it is slightly damp, not wet. I read where it grows best in moist, well-drained soil and that's how I would describe it.

I'm happy that it's normal for it to be establishing its roots the first year and won't expect more. Most website information doesn't tell you the rate of growth or if it flowers the first year. I'm not impatient - just curious. Thanks for the encouragement. I'm looking forward to these shrubs as they mature to become the focal point of this border that I was asked to put in for our condo complex.

Thank you! :-)