I'm reading about how easy it is to grow weigelas, so I'm sure I should be embarrassed about this, but we planted seven common weigela shrubs last year in the summer. At the end of the summer, some of them were dropping a few leaves, but they came back during the spring, perhaps not as vigorously as they should have.

In June, they started dropping leaves again, and the leaves left on the plant sometimes had brown around the edges. We have just come back from a honeymoon after three weeks and have discovered that most of our weigela have dropped all of their leaves. Some of the plants have new leaves sprouting at the base of the stems. Others look completely brown and crispy (i.e. dead).

Our weigelas are planted in full sun and have drip irrigation watering them at a rate of one gallon every other day. The summer weather has been unseasonably friendly (that is, not 100 degrees and dry all summer like we usually get). We sprayed for insects and fungus twice in June, the last time just before we left.

Any thoughts?