Canada Blooms, Canada’s largest garden and flower festival, presently underway in Toronto, Ontario, has named its Plant of the Year for 2019. It’s Weigela Electric Love™ (Weigela × ’ZR1’) in the Date Night™ series. The one-of-a-kind flowering shrub is a product of the world’s top Weigela breeding program at Bloomin’ Easy and well deserving of such a title for a world-class event like Canada Blooms.
What makes Electric Love™ weigela novel is the true red bell flowers over such a long season, summer through early fall, and this, against such dark foliage. Aside from the unique aesthetic, it’s compact, rounded and tidy, reaching around 20 to 24 inches (50 to 60 cm) tall and 24 to 30 inches (60 to 80 cm) wide; plus it’s cold hardy to USDA Zone 4, about AgCan zone 5. Because of its smaller frame, Electric Love™ will work well in a variety of landscapes as well as in decorative containers on the balcony or patio.
Bees and hummingbirds will love it and it tolerates most well-drained soils, only needing watering during periods of drought. Full sun is best, but it will still bloom modestly in partial shade. Pruning can be carried out any time. However, to promote better flower production, prune in early spring and remove spent flowers in the summer. Winter protection will be needed in colder zones.
Brand new in 2019, Electric Love weigela it is being distributed throughout Canada (Canadian Tire, Sheridan Nurseries, Botanus, etc.) and the US this year, undoubtedly making its way to Europe soon. You can even see which garden centers sell Bloomin’ Easy products in North America on the Bloomin’ Easy map of plant retailers.
Weigela Electric Love™: a plant to discover in 2019!
Photos courtesy of Bloomin’ Easy.
0 comments on “Canada Blooms Plant of the Year 2019”