dwarf purple-leaf weigela

order: dipsacales
family: caprifoliaceae
genus: weigela
species: florida
cultivar: 'nana purpurea'

weigela early summer 2012.

This is a dwarf cultivar of a very vigorous plant that can often be found in parks and private gardens. With me the plant's true potential wasn't let to unfurl itself due to the use of small basket. After seeing how often the soil was let to dry out, I regret not having given it a pot of a size that can retain more water.

It is true that this plant is very easy to grow. The only time it would complain is really when the soil has been completely dry for an extended period of time. When this happens, its leaves become soft and hanging. However, after receiving water for a couple of hours, they bounce back to their usual sturdy position.

I bought this plant from an online shop in 2012. It was pruned very hard prior to delivery. So in that year, the plant didn't flower. This year, a small amount of flowers grew on the previous-year branches. They resemble the flowers of other plants belonging to the honeysuckle family that I have -- long tubular forms in clusters, pinkish petals with some amber coloration in their throats. The leaves themselves are at first green and turn into a dark purple when hardened later, just as the name implies.

I'm thinking of planting it out in the garden among other bushes in the spring next year, since I have started to redesign a corner of our garden which can make use of plants like this. I think this plant will perform a lot better in the ground.

weigela early summer 2013.

pink abelia edward goucher

order: dipsacales
family: caprifoliaceae
genus: abelia
species: x grandiflora (chinensis x uniflora)
cultivar: 'Edward Goucher'

This plant is a souvenir from the trip to a koi show in the holland city, Arcen this year. As we were driving closer to the border of the netherlands, we noticed that gardens of private homes became more and more elaborately adorned with bouquets of flowers. Once in the netherlands, there were numerous green houses, plant nurseries and garden centres to be seen. The koi show itself was held in a park with nicely done gardens. We were so tempted that we decided to check out a garden centre after the show. It turned out, to our disappointment, that the one we went to didn't have quite the range of plants and gardening products we anticipated. Also, due to the summer heat that hit us there, the entire sales area was so unbearably hot. Some plants were even wilting. Nevertheless, I wanted to get at least one plant as a souvenir, in order not to go home empty handed. The one plant I brought home is an abelia with flowers that look a lot like those of a kolkwitzia amabilis, only smaller. Flowers are bell-shaped, pink with orange throat and are borne along the long, thin arching branches. While kolkwitzias only flower once a year, abelias flower throughout the entire summer and autumn. Flowers are mildly scented.

It's been suggested not to expose the plant to extreme coldness in the winter as branches could be damaged. Keeping it just above freezing will ensure their survival. Unlike kolkwitzias, abelias are evergreen shrubs. Therefore their water demand remains considerably high in the winter, due to the high transpiration rate, especially if subjected to strong wind. It would be wise to give the plant some kind of shelter from strong wind.

beauty bush

order: dipsacales
family: caprifoliaceae
genus: kolkwitzia
species: amabilis

Beauty bush is the only species in the genus. It's a deciduous, hardy suckering shrub with very long shoots. Stems and branches peel as they age. Flowers appear in late spring or early summer. Flowers are bell-shaped with five pink petals and throat flushed yellow. The flowers remind me of pleiones. But actually they are almost identical with the flowers of Abelia schumannii, also a member of the honeysuckle family.

I separated a sucker from the parent tree this spring to grow in a pot. It's an old sucker that had been pruned back to the base previously. In spring shoots appeared on the short stump. I miscalculated the necessary depth to dig in the soil and ended up digging out a stick with hardly any root on it. I planted it in a pot and moved it to a shady corner of the garden where it doesn't get direct sunlight. After a month, new shoots have extended to form long arches. Meanwhile I can be sure that it has developed enough roots in the ground.

I'll move it to a slightly brighter place so that it produces more energy. That's all there is to do this year. Pruning will be carried out next year after flowering, that is, if there is any flower.

new plant with its wonderful autumn colour.