Weigela 'Dark Horse':
Back in 1991 Weigela florida 'Foliss Purpureis' was the best of the dark leaf varieties. However the leaf of this form tends to fade in the heat of summer. Using 'Foliss Purpureis as the mother plant I tried using pollen from 'Rubidor', 'Victoria', 'Evita' and florida variegate; not exactly a cocktail, but a number of individual crosses. It is hard to believe that it was pollen from florida variegate that would produce one seedling with a superb dark leaf.
In 1997 David Tristram of Walberton Nursery and Geoff Needham of PlantHaven visited my garden in Southampton. By that time the plant had grown into an exceptional shrub 2ft x 2ft. They agreed to start trailing and the rest is history.
David Tristram christened the plant 'Dark Horse'.
Weigelas 'Blazeaway' & 'Ruby Anniversary' where also raised in 1991 as part of the same breeding program.
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Dark Horse Weigela
Dark horse weigela ( W. florida"Dark Horse") is one of the toughest plants we've tested in recent years. A plant we adopted and traveled with from a conference in Salt Lake City, this weigela went by car from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, Albuquerque, St. Louis and back to Washington, receiving bottled water at times. It spent a season out of the ground, heeled in for winter and leafed out in the pot, and was planted the following year. It flowered this spring and went through a blistering and dry summer.
Dark horse weigela is now a member of the family. It's about eight inches tall and will grow into a compact three-foot-high and -wide deciduous shrub with bronze foliage and pinkish-red trumpet-shaped flowers. Plant in moist, well-drained soil in full sun in groupings of three to five for contrasting foliage color and late spring flowers.
.Washington post.
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