{"id":3339,"date":"2021-03-30T00:14:27","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T07:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/pal-question-990\/"},"modified":"2024-04-11T12:47:28","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T19:47:28","slug":"distinguishing-between-weigela-kolkwitzia-and-dipelta","status":"publish","type":"pal","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/distinguishing-between-weigela-kolkwitzia-and-dipelta\/","title":{"rendered":"Distinguishing among Weigela, Kolkwitzia, and Dipelta"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m ready to call it quits…ia! How can I tell the difference between Weigela<\/em>, Dipelta<\/em>, and Kolkwitzia<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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All three of these opposite-leaved shrubs are in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliceae. However, some taxonomists historically split Kolkwitzia<\/em> and Dipelta<\/em> (along with Abelia<\/em> and Linnaea<\/em>) into Linnaeaceae, while Weigela<\/em> joins Diervilla<\/em> in Diervillaceae.<\/p>\n

Although spring is the time when most plant lovers notice these flowering shrubs, it is easier to tell them apart when they develop dry fruit. Dipelta floribunda<\/em> and Kolkwitzia<\/em> produce achenes (dry, single-seeded fruits that do not split open), whereas Weigela florida<\/em> fruits are capsules (clustered together like a tiny bunch of bananas, and developing from green or red to brown as they mature). Dipelta<\/em> bracts are ornamental, papery, and colorful before they dry to brown. Kolkwitzia<\/em> bracts are weird-looking, like bristly chicken feet.<\/p>\n

If you are eager to know what you are looking at while the shrub is still in flower, it is easy to rule out Dipelta<\/em> and Kolkwitzia<\/em> if the flowers are red or yellow, in which case, it’s Weigela<\/em>. Bear in mind that Kolkwitzia<\/em> and Weigela<\/em> are common in home gardens, while Dipelta<\/em> is much less so. Dipelta<\/em> and Kolkwitzia (Linnaea amabilis)<\/em> have pale pink to whitish flowers with markings on the petals; Weigela<\/em> lacks such markings. Weigela<\/em> petals also differ from the other two genera in that they are all about the same size (radially symmetrical, or actinomorphic), while in Dipelta<\/em> and Kolkwitzia<\/em>, the lower petals are larger than the upper two (that is, bilaterally symmetrical, or zygomorphic). The bristly characteristics of Kolkwitzia<\/em> that are so notable in the dried fruit are also visible in the white bristles at the flower’s base. The Dipelta<\/em> flower’s base is concealed between a pair of circular bracts. To summarize: Bracts? Dipelta<\/em>. Bristles? Kolkwitzia<\/em>.
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Sources:<\/h4>\n