Getting it to bloom

Why won't my Weigela 'Midnight Wine' bloom? (and how to make it flower)

Also called Midnight Wine Weigela, Elvera Weigela (Weigela florida 'Elvera').

More about weigela 'midnight wine'

About Weigela 'Midnight Wine'

Weigela florida 'Elvera' · also called Midnight Wine Weigela, Elvera Weigela · flowering

A very compact dwarf deciduous shrub with deep burgundy-wine foliage that holds colour all season. Pink-magenta bell-shaped flowers appear in late spring. Excellent for borders, containers, and small gardens. One of the smallest Weigela cultivars, remaining tidy without heavy pruning. Mildly-toxic as a precaution.

Plant type: flowering

Watch for — Poor container performance: Root-bound plants in undersized pots show stunted growth and reduced flowering. Repot every 2 years into a container one size larger.

The reasons weigela 'midnight wine' isn't blooming

Almost every non-blooming weigela 'midnight wine' traces back to one of these, roughly in order of how common they are:

Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.
Too much nitrogen feed, driving lush foliage at the expense of flowers (very common with general or lawn feeds).
The plant has not been deadheaded, so it stops flowering once it sets seed.
Irregular watering — drought or waterlogging at the budding stage makes buds abort.
It is still too young or was checked by a transplant and is rebuilding before flowering.

Feeding weigela 'midnight wine' a high-nitrogen general feed and growing it in too little sun — you get a big leafy plant and almost no flowers.

The fix — how to get weigela 'midnight wine' to flower

Maximise sun. Give weigela 'midnight wine' the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers.
Switch the feed. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.
Deadhead regularly. Remove spent flowers often to keep it producing more rather than stopping to set seed.
Water consistently. Keep moisture even through budding and flowering — drought-then-flood swings make buds drop.

Light and feeding do most of the heavy lifting here. Dial in the spot with the light guide for weigela 'midnight wine' and get the feeding right with the weigela 'midnight wine' fertilising schedule — the wrong feed (too much nitrogen) is one of the most common silent reasons a healthy plant makes leaves instead of flowers.

Bloom season and what to expect

Weigela 'Midnight Wine' flowers across its growing season (mostly summer) and, kept fed and deadheaded, can bloom for many weeks or right up to frost.

Post-bloom care so it flowers again

Deadhead, keep feeding lightly, and many will rebloom; collect seed from the best plants at the end of the season if you want to grow them again.

For everything else this plant needs day to day, see the full weigela 'midnight wine' care brief and its watering schedule — a stressed, badly watered plant rarely has the energy to flower at all.

Weigela 'Midnight Wine' blooming — frequently asked questions

Why won't my weigela 'midnight wine' flower?

Weigela 'Midnight Wine' blooms on the season's growth given enough sun, warmth and the right feed — there is no cold or photoperiod trick, just good growing conditions and a bloom-leaning feed. The most common reason it is not happening: Too little sun — most of these need full sun (or very bright light) to flower well; shade gives leaves, not blooms.

How do I make weigela 'midnight wine' bloom?

Give weigela 'midnight wine' the sunniest spot you have — for most bedding and fruiting plants, more direct light directly means more flowers. Move off high-nitrogen feeds and use a higher-potassium "bloom" or tomato-type feed as it comes into flower.

When does weigela 'midnight wine' normally bloom?