Native to Korea, China and Japan, this evergreen, dense, bushy shrub or small tree grows to 25 ft. in the wild, but only 12 ft. in cultivation. Its dark green leaves ('Ovatus Aureus' shown above has leaves blotched and streaked yellow) are oval to oblong, tough and leathery. The pale green flowers, carried in flattened cymes in summer, are followed by rounded pink fruits holding white seeds with orange arils.

36 – 30 in. in height with a 24 – 36 in. spread. Foliage is grey-green with tooth-edged leaves and the stems are silver white. Long blooming blue-lavender flowers. Named the 1995 Perennial Plant of the Year by the Perennial Plant Association. Tolerates drought and moist soils but prefers well-drained/loamy, sandy or clay soils with a pH of neutral to slightly alkaline (7.0-7.7). Full sun or partial shade.

Native to Japan, China and Korea, this upright shrub grows to about 6 ft. tall, with lace- to egg-shapes leaves. Flowers appear in clusters from summer (‘Goldflame’ with orange autumn leaves and red flowers) in small corymbs covering arching stems. Flowers and leaves all appear on the same side of the arching branches. Prefers well-drained soil, soil tolerant. Full sun or partial shade. Zones 3-10.

Elvera 'Midnight Wine' is a dwarf version of the popular Weigela 'Wine and Roses.' To a height of 1.5 – 2 ft. and as wide. Reddish-pink, funnel-shaped flowers (to 1 ¼ in. long) appear singly or in clusters along previous year’s growth in mid to late spring. Elliptic to obovate, glossy, burgundy-purple leaves (to 3 in. long) turn very dark purple in autumn.