Weigela 'Red Prince'
Weigela 'Red Prince' ·
An arching shrub covered in true red, trumpet-shaped flowers in late spring, often with a second, lighter flush in late summer. The red does not fade.
- Size
- 6 ft tall, 6 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late May to mid June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around weigela 'Red Prince'
The planner designed this bed around weigela 'Red Prince' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why weigela 'Red Prince' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Weigela 'Red Prince' × 1, red
- 2 Verbena 'Homestead Purple' × 5, purple
- 3 October daphne × 14, pink
- 4 Fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' × 5, yellow
- 5 False sunflower 'Summer Sun' × 3, yellow
- 6 Bergenia 'Winter Glow' × 3, red
- 7 Star of Persia × 5, purple
- 8 Giant snowdrop × 12, white
- 9 Allium 'Globemaster' × 5, purple
Why this plant
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
- The only trumpets. The others are dense clusters, flat plates, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 6 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to false sunflower 'Summer Sun' (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From late May to mid June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With verbena 'Homestead Purple', star of Persia and allium 'Globemaster' in late May: 4 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 8 groups (75%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The most in flower at one time is 4 kinds, from late May. Hot and cool in equal measure: red and yellow against purple and pink, with white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 7 Excellent, 8 Good, 2 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where weigela 'Red Prince' goes in a border
At 6 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is very tall (5 to 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
A dependable, old-fashioned shrub that gives a mass of red after the spring bulbs. Prune it right after flowering, as it blooms on last year's wood.
- Red flowers for hummingbirds
- Shrub borders
- Informal hedges
What to plant with weigela 'Red Prince'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Peony: in flower together for three weeks, from late May; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Siberian iris: in flower together for three weeks, from late May; low enough (2½ ft) to stand in front of it.
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': in flower together for four weeks, from late May; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about weigela 'Red Prince'
Does weigela 'Red Prince' need sun or shade?
Weigela 'Red Prince' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does weigela 'Red Prince' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does weigela 'Red Prince' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to mid June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Late May to late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late May to mid June |
| Zone 6 | Mid May to mid June |
| Zone 7 | Early May to early June |
| Zone 8 | Early May to early June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should weigela 'Red Prince' be planted?
5 ft (150 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6 ft (180 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 6 ft (180 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many weigela 'Red Prince' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 5 ft (150 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 5 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is weigela 'Red Prince' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like weigela 'Red Prince'?
Weigela 'Red Prince' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Arrowwood viburnum 'Blue Muffin': the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 12 in narrower, white, not red.
- Ninebark 'Summer Wine': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; white, not red.
- Siberian dogwood: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; white, not red, wants moist soil.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after weigela 'Red Prince'?
Weigela 'Red Prince' is over by mid June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Delphinium: from late June to mid July, 5 ft tall.
- Russian sage: from mid July to mid September, 4 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Bee balm: from early July to early August, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does weigela 'Red Prince' look like in winter?
Weigela 'Red Prince' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
More Weigela
- Dwarf weigela 'My Monet' Weigela florida 'My Monet'
- Weigela 'Sonic Bloom Pink' Weigela florida 'Bokrasopin' (Sonic Bloom Pink)
- Weigela 'Spilled Wine' Weigela florida 'Bokraspiwi' (Spilled Wine)
- Weigela 'Wine & Roses' Weigela florida 'Wine & Roses'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 6 ft (180 cm) tall, 6 ft (180 cm) wide
- Plant
- 5 ft (150 cm) apart
- Height class
- Very tall (5 to 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late May to mid June; trumpets; red
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.