| A Profusion of Blooms from Grandmother's | | | | for every 100 Weigela you see, you may spot |
| Garden | | | | one Beauty Bush in someone's garden. |
| My favorite deciduous shrub for mid-spring color is | | | | Maturing at eight feet tall and six feet wide, I |
| a plant that was widely grown in grandmother's | | | | have used Beauty Bush in my landscape designs |
| times - Kolkwitzia amabilis, commonly and aptly | | | | as a screen, as a specimen and at the corner of |
| named Beauty Bush. This plant was discovered in | | | | a house in groups of three. It looks particularly |
| China around the turn of the last century by the | | | | striking surrounded by early-flowering red peonies. |
| world's preeminent plant explorer E.H. Wilson, who | | | | I have never seen an insect or disease on a |
| considered it one of his finest introductions. It | | | | Beauty Bush. It asks only for any reasonable soil |
| quickly became very popular first in England and | | | | that is well-drained. It grows best in full sun, but |
| then here. In 1946, the Royal Horticultural | | | | will tolerate very light shade. Kolkwitzia is incredibly |
| Society's Wisley Gardens introduced an improved | | | | drought tolerant. I have a specimen planted |
| form with superior flowering. This week we are | | | | strategically as you come up my driveway that |
| featuring that selection of Beauty Bush - | | | | has been in place for years and has never seen a |
| appropriately named 'Pink Cloud.' 'Pink Cloud' | | | | drop of water from a hose - even in the worst |
| blooms for several weeks in May (in cool seasons | | | | of droughts. For maximum flower production, |
| up to a month) with a fountain of thousands of | | | | after about 5 years we recommend an annual |
| bell-shaped, soft pink flowers with yellow throats. | | | | pruning right after the flowers fade. Either |
| The blooms are displayed on arching stems and | | | | remove 1/3 of the stems (the oldest ones) at |
| literally cover the plant, creating a singularly | | | | ground level or give the plant an all-over haircut, |
| effective display. | | | | removing about 25% of the foliage mass. |
| With new horticultural techniques of container | | | | Planting and Care |
| growing, unfortunately Beauty Bush fell into | | | | Hardy in Zones 4-8 |
| disfavor. It resents pot culture, looks spindly and | | | | Prefers a well-drained soil in full sun. |
| weak in the container and is easily passed over. | | | | Fertilize with Plant-Tone in late fall and early spring. |
| Once planted in the garden, however, it rapidly | | | | When necessary, prune right after flowering. |
| and reliably grows robustly. I consider Beauty | | | | Click here to view Pink Cloud on the Carroll |
| Bush to be a far superior plant to Weigela, yet | | | | Gardens website. |