Weigela Sonic Bloom

* Common name: Weigela Sonic Bloom™

* Botanical name: Weigela florida Sonic Bloom™

* What it is: A weigela that flowers in fall? This new three-color series of an old-fashioned flowering shrub blooms best in its traditional May time frame, but it also puts out a second lighter but longer-lasting round of hummingbird-attracting tubular flowers from late summer to frost. Comes in red, medium pink and pale pink (‘Pearl’).

* Size: 4 to 5 feet tall and wide.

* Where to use: Shrub borders, mixed with perennials in a bird or butterfly garden or massed on a sunny bank. These grow in a loose, arching habit, so you may not like them in a sunny foundation if you lean toward neat there. Best in full sun to light shade.

* Care: Keep soil consistently damp the first season to establish the roots, then weigela is a drought-tough shrub seldom needing water. If size control is needed, thin out excess branches and shorten overly long ones right after the plant finishes it first May round of flowering. Avoid shearing if you want to maintain the loose habit.

* Great partner: Low blue or purple perennials pair the best, such as creeping veronica, leadwort, lavender or dwarf catmint. Blue- or silver-tinted evergreens, such as juniper ‘Silver Mist’ or juniper ‘Blue Star,’ also are good neighbors.