When to Trim a Weigela Bush

The Safe Approach

• Prune the Weigela after it blooms in the early spring. Since the Weigela's blossoms grow from the bud, cutting the buds before it blooms will result in a diminished display. Once the flowers do bloom, you can immediately get to work pruning the bush. Ideally, make all your cuttings in the spring. Avoid pruning the bush after the summer, as you'll lop off buds and future flowers in the process. This approach results in a single, intense display in the early spring.

Dual Bloom

• Lightly prune the bush before it blossoms in the spring, and then lightly prune it again once the flowers arrive. This approach can result in two blooms, though it carries the risk of a diminished display. The mechanics behind this are fairly simple. Pruning the Weigela invigorates growth. By pruning the Weigela before it blooms, you encourage more buds to form and, in turn, an additional set of flowers. However, in process you'll also prune away the first set. The more you prune, the more intense the second display becomes at the expense of the first set.

Maintenance Pruning

• When pruning the Weigela, you can approach it as either maintenance or renewal. Maintenance pruning focuses on keep the bush's shape while fostering good health. First, remove damaged, dead or diseased branches. If rotting wood remains on the Weigela, it can become the staging point for a plant-wide infection. Once you've removed the damaged branches, shape the rest of the bush to fit your landscaping preferences. When making a cut, do so a couple of centimeters above the nearest bud. New growth will later spring from the bud.

Renewal Pruning

• A more vigorous alternative to maintenance is renewal pruning. This process entails cutting older, woodier stems at the base of the plant and leaving only younger growth. Over the following year, the Weigela will produce even more growth to compensate for what it has lost. Renewal pruning is best done after the blossom has died away, as the old-growth branches you're removing are still viable and will produce flowers in the spring. By lopping them off too soon, you reduce the intensity of the subsequent bloom.