Weigela florida White Lightning

Weigela White Lightning is a charming small shrub, decorative for most of the year. Its green foliage is variegated with yellow, giving it a bright appearance. In June, it is adorned with numerous pink flower buds, turning into white flowers, until July. Adapting to almost all soils and climates, it dislikes only excessively dry summers. This versatile and commendable plant will be happy in any English or romantic-style border. 

Originating from northern China, Japan, and Korea, Weigela florida is a deciduous shrub belonging to the Caprifoliaceae family. This botanical family includes multiple decorative species in the garden, such as honeysuckles (Lonicera), Abelias, Leycesterias (pheasant berry) or snowberries. A highly adaptable plant, it grows in neutral, alkaline, or moderately acidic soil. Weigela has a fibrous and spreading root system that tolerates transplantation.

The 'White Lightning' cultivar has a rounded and bushy habit, with fairly flexible stems. It forms a branching bush that will eventually grow to 1.50 m (5ft) in height and spread. Its flower buds are pink and produce funnel-shaped white flowers in June-July. They are carried in corymbs at the ends of the previous year's branches. This flowering is highly pollen- and nectar-rich, making it a useful plant for wildlife. Its foliage consists of green leaves, adorned with a particularly decorative yellow margin throughout the growing season, and even more so in autumn when this margin reddens due to the first cold temperatures. The foliage, deciduous, is absent in winter.

This compact White Lightning variety, which forms a ball of flowers, adds a great deal of sparkle to the garden, as well as to the terrace. Its small size and good pruning tolerance make it easy to cultivate in a decorative pot. In a flower bed, combine it with Cotinus 'Old Fashioned' with astonishing foliage colours that change throughout the season; Black Tower Elderberry with almost black foliage that contrasts with the bright Weigela; or the amazing Berberis 'Harlequin' with purple leaves splashed with pink and white to create a delightfully colourful scene. In the background, the very dark foliage of the hollies, mahonias and yews will provide a backdrop for its flowers and variegated foliage, and ensure a continuous display in winter.