PL ANT OF TH E M ON TH
JIM FUNAI, LIC Cuyahoga Community College
SHELLEY FUNAI, LIC Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens Weigela florida “Pink Princess” is a hardy plant, easy to grow and maintain, and grows to a height and width of up to 5-6 feet in appropriate conditions.
WEIGELA FLORIDA FLOWERING WEIGELA If you look in Dr. Dirr’s Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, you will see he lists this month’s plant by the common name “Old Fashioned Weigela,” a name that does it a great injustice. Quite the contrary, this month’s plant is a great example of taking the old, making improvements, and finding new uses for the betterment of our landscapes. The trick is overcoming past negative experiences with either the straight species, or some of the less-than-stellar cultivars. Perhaps it would help us to think of some of the Weigela on the market as “New Fashioned Weigela!” During a recent learning expedition to Klyn Nursery, to visit one of our horticulture heroes, Bill Hendricks, we actually had a discussion about “old fashioned plants.” While we may not be the trend setting industry the clothing industry is – we tend to be a bit too practical for that – a lot of us fall into the same trap of follow-the-leader towards the next new shiny trend.
28 | Official Publication of The Ohio Landscape Association
Just try to name all Coneflower cultivars. Or, take a stab at the Heuchera inundation. Perhaps you can rattle off the most recent Panicle hydrangea cultivars? Really, how many versions of “it turns pink in the fall” do we need? Please, don’t get us wrong. These are great plants, and new cultivars are fun and exciting, but we can go overboard with these obsessions. Don’t believe us? Try talking to someone who is a Daylily fanatic as they describe the difference between 50 “different” yellows. Yikes!