Weigela 'Wine & Roses' Scorching

[Midwestguy]

Hi, I live in SC Kansas (zone 6b). I planted six one gallon Weigela 'Wine & Roses' shrubs this past April. I planted them with no problems, and they have been looking great and growing well. In fact they are still growing. I have them planted on the south side of my house about 2 1/2 feet from the foundation. They get full sun all day, which is what most people and nurseries suggest for the most vibrant color.
However, a couple of them are getting leaf scorch. The ends of some the leaves, and in some cases, an entire leaf turns brown a crispy. (There are photos attached of the damage on these two shrubs.)
Now, the other ones are doing great, and one has hardly any leaf scorch at all. (Maybe on the tip of one leaf.)
I called the nursery I purchased them from, and they said this is not uncommon for recently planted shrubs. He told me to give them a light trim in order to encourage the roots to spread out. I have also been watering them every 1-2 days. I have very, very well drained soil, so there is little danger in overwatering.
So, my qauestion is, is this normal and is there anything else I can do to help this condition from worsening? If these shrubs are scorching now, will they also scorch when they are mature?
Below are the photos.

Leaf scorch on one of the Weigela 'Wine & Roses' shrubs:
[img]https://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n616/samnsarah/DSCN3431.jpg[/img]

Leaf scorch on the other Weigela 'Wine & Roses' shrub:
[img]https://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n616/samnsarah/DSCN3432.jpg[/img]

Here is a photo of one of the Weigela 'Wine & Roses' shrubs that has little to no leaf scorch but is planted in the exact same area:
[img]https://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n616/samnsarah/DSCN3434.jpg[/img]

[rainbowgardener]

They don't look like 'Wine and Roses.' They are so green.

[img]https://www.rossandjacks.com/files/plantimages/WeigelaMidnightWine.jpg[/img]

That's just a picture I found on line. Mine is even darker/redder in foliage. I got mine when it was small like yours and it never was green.

Mine is not in full sun, but the back half of it that is more shaded by house and awning behind it is not doing as well, so I think it could use more sun than it gets.

As it gets more mature, it should get less tender and less likely to scorch.

[Midwestguy]

They are definitely Weigela 'Wine and Roses.' They can be green, dark purple, or a combination of the two. According to the Missouri Botanical Center, they get their darkest color in the fall. I have a 1 year warranty on these shrubs, so if they don't do what I want, I will replace them.
What you said about them being less prone to leaf scorch as they mature is encouraging. But if they keep getting more and more scorched as the summer progresses I may end up replacing them with a shrub that is more heat and drought tolerant when young.

[cynthia_h]

Just throwing an idea out here, since I have no experience with Weigela:

Would shade cloth help them?

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[Midwestguy]

It may, but then again it may create other problems. Weigelas are supposed to grow best in full sun.
The reason why leaf scorch occurs is because water is being lost faster than it can be replaced or the roots are not able to absord moisture from the ground due to being planted too deep, damage to the roots, or soil compaction. These shrubs are planted correctly. The roots are not damaged and the soil is definitely not compacted.
The temps here in KS this whole week have been 103 degrees or higher. To make it worse it has also been windy every day. I started watering every day earlier this week, so I am holding out hope that it will help. The leaves that are already scorched will not look any better, but hopefully the new growth will not scorch with the extra moisture.
Oh, by the way, I have also ammended the soil with compost and still have a layer of mulch around each plant to help the soil retain moisture.
If all of this doesn't work, I will have to explore other causes of the scorching.

[rainbowgardener]

well 103 and windy is killer weather for anything, but especially a new young shrub that ia not well established. Cynthia's suggestion of shade cloth might actually help, break up the wind a little as well as hot sun. Hot wind is very dessicating.

I'm currently on a little mini-vacation, return home mon. But the whole time I'm gone it will be 95 - 102 and SUNNY. I watered everything deeply before I left, but have no idea what I will come home to. And my tomatoes had just started ripening!

[Midwestguy]

Okay, this is weird. I talked to a local nursery owner who also said what you said, Rainbowgardener. My Weigella 'Wine & Roses' shrubs do not look like 'wine & roses'. So I called Proven Winners, since that is who supplied Sooner Plant Farm with them, and the woman at Proven Winners said that these shrubs should have dark colored foliage if they are Weigella 'Wine & Roses'. She said that the new foligae should emerge green but then turn dark. Well, the new foliage on my shrubs is emerging dark and then turning green. This really puzzled her, so I e-mail her a couple of photos of these shrubs. She said that she would contact Proven Winner's supplier. So, now I am waiting for a reply from Proven Winners. It's a mystery!

[Midwestguy]

I got the reply form Proven Winners. Apparently, I need to stop fertilizing these young plants for the time being. The fertilizer is what is causing them to be so green. Read Proven Winner's reply below.

Stacey at Proven Winners said, "When a plant pushes a lot of new growth through frequent fertilization, the leaves grow faster than they can synthesize color pigments, so you end up with green foliage. Once the plant has a chance to catch up, the burgundy color will begin to dominate.

The problem is no doubt compounded by your excessive heat. Plants actually synthesize their pigments at night, and when night time temperatures are high, they aren't as productive at doing so.

The best thing you can do for the time being is to keep watering it as you have been but begin backing off the fertilizer and and cross your fingers for cooler weather and some rain!"

[rainbowgardener]

Very interesting. Guess it makes sense, since I have never fertilized mine. I don't really see the point of fertilizing trees and shrubs, since they are going to have huge deep roots, that draw their nutrients from well below the area you fertilize.

Anyway I'm a tough love, sink or swim gardener. My weigela has done great on its no fertilizer diet, except that the back half of it is lately showing some signs of not getting enough sun. But it is 4' tall and probably more than that wide, gets absolutely covered in blooms in the spring, then blooms a little bit here and there through the season, and is very dark purple.

[Midwestguy]

This is also probably the reason why I am seeing so much leaf scorch. If my Weigelas are pushing a lot of new growth through the fertilizer I am giving them, then the foliage is probably growing faster than the roots are. As a result the roots are not able to provide all of that new foliage with enough moisture, so when my area got those 100+ temperatures my plants scorched. I am learning that it is fine to fertilize annuals, perennials, and vegetables, but not so much trees and shrubs. Like I said before, you learn something new every day. I just wished I would have learned THIS 9 weeks ago, before I started fertilizing these Weigelas. lol

[Midwestguy]

I was thinking...perhaps my Weigela 'Wine & Roses' shrubs are not suffering from sun scorch but rather from fertilizer burn. There is about 30% nitrogen in the that Miracle Grow plant food according to the Scott's company, and it is a non-organic fertilizer, so it releases the chemicals really fast. This would explain the scorched leaves as well as the really green leaves. (Nitorgen makes plants green, or so I've been told.) At any rate I stopped using the fertilizer about a week ago after I received the e-mail relply from Proven Winners.
If this is fertilizer burn, do you think it will eventually clear up?

[rainbowgardener]

yes.

[rainbowgardener]

sorry, duplicate post.