Weigela florida was the most popular cultivated species until, in the late 19th century, hybridisation began in major European nurseries in Belgium, France, Germany and Poland, producing much larger and more colourful cultivars, many of which are still available today. Worldwide,170 cultivars are known. The literature sometimes treats cultivars under W. florida although their origin is often uncertain. In Australia there seems to have been confusion between W. florida and W. floribunda.
Buds carmine, flowers deep pink and extremely large.
Raised Lemoine, France, 1896.
Medium shrub with abundant deep carmine to brownish red flowers.
Raised at Rathke in Pruszcz, near Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland), 1892.
Leaves yellow with reddish base. Flowers prolific, carmine.
Raised van Houtte, Holland, 1876.
Similar to 'Eva Rathke' but stems green in winter, the flowers purplish red.
Raised V.A.Vanicek, Newport, Rhode Island, New York, USA, in the 1940s.
Low shrub with pale green leaves. Flowers abundant, medium-sized, carmine, becoming deeper with age.
Raised Klenert, Graz, Austria, 1908.
