If they looked good all summer then something happened during the winter that killed them back, such as drying out of the roots or freezing of the tops. If nearby plants of different kinds are doing well then it is probably best concluded that this particular shrub was not a good match for the site conditions and it should be replaced with something else.

I planted several Midnight Wine Weigela last year, and while I get
that they're very late to leaf out, I'm still very disappointed with
their appearance so far

==>>> boy that a major dose of instant gratification needs ...

2 to 4 years.. after planting.. to get what you want ...

no.. fert will not speed up the process ...

they are alive.. that is my only hope and expectation.. after the first winter ...

i dont think it matters what you put in... if your expectations are that high ...

ken

Last summer and fall my part of New England was quite dry, and if you didn't water your newly planted shrubs deeply before winter and they went into the freeze dry, they may well have dried out over winter. Also this spring has been quite dry. Have you checked soil moisture levels by sticking your finger in deeply?

As Ken said, it takes a bit for shrubs to get good roots and start putting on top growth, often 3-5 years to really begin to put on size from small transplants, depending on the type of shrub and the growing conditions. Midnight Wine is a small shrub, something like a foot tall and two feet wide. IME Weigelas don't really sucker or spread. Does that suit what you want?

If not, check out shrubs such as Itea 'Little Henry' or Deutzia 'Chardonnay Pearls', 'Nikko', 'Creme Fraiche' or 'Yuki Cherry Blossom'. All of these will sucker and spread but stay around 2' tall. If you want quicker gratification, put in a flowering groundcover perennial such as one of the taller threadleafed Coreopsis (if it's sunny) that will take less time to produce a larger plant. It will still take a couple of years before it puts on size.

While you are waiting, you can plants spreading annuals to fill in the gaps until your shrubs get large.

I have also planted midnight wine. I waited 4 yrs and they always leafed out but never flowered. I have other weigelas that flower great. These are awful. Boring dull leaves too. Midnight wine was not what it was supposed to be.

3-5 years is too long, if a shrub isn't well established before then it is stunted.

Embothrium - perhaps where you are, but it depends on growing season and species. My ground is colder than 40 degrees for something like 6 months of the year. The OP's plants currently look tiny, and from the size they are, I'd be quite surprised if they are 2' across in 3 years. I was trying to convey that gardening in New England doesn't include instant gratification unless one uses annuals.

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I didn't word the question very well, as it's not a matter of impatience. It's a matter of expecting the growth this year to be mostly on last year's growth instead of from the base. I think NHBabs gave the best answer about the plant drying out over the winter, presumably killing most of the wood but not the plant.

I do have other Coreopsis in this garden, and I'm considering expanding that.

We see this all the time with Weigelas here in Iowa- severe die back the first year, and often during the first few years, particularly if planted in the fall. Could clip the dead off and see what happens or just remove them in favor of something else.

Thanks for the info. These were planted either late June or July, but I think the answer is the same.

I'm going to keep the two that are putting out a decent number of leaves right now. I'll probably trash the other two, one which looks totally dead and one that's mostly dead combined with a location where we don't care for the dark leaves. (Aside: We made a stupid mistake in our landscape designs which was not telling the designer that we were using black mulch. Neither the Midnight Wine here nor the Plum Pudding coral bells are good against black mulch.)

I live close to Niagara Falls, Ontario (and new York state). To replace a too large shrub I was considering Midnight Wine Weigela, but think I will rather choose a "Green Ice" miniature rose. I grows about 12 - 15" tall and spreads about 24". It forms an uneven mound and blooms almost all summer. I've never sprayed my other one. I shear it with large shears to prune in spring, and may prune some branches to shape later in summer.

Maybe I'm just cranky since it's Coronatime, but I sure wish people--if they can't be nice, would just not post snarky replies. I'm getting a little sick of it. I'm here because I planted the same little shrub and it looks dead after the winter. I know some things look dead, but they they are just late to the party in the Spring. I think the questioner was not looking for "instant gratification." I think they were asking, "Hey--anyone else have this shrub and is it under-performing for you, too?" Someone posted about the love on Gardenweb. Nope, not feeling it.

Some of the dwarf fothergillas, (gardenii), have a suckering habit staying wider than tall. There is also a dwarf viburnum out (Lil Ditty) that remains on the small side but not sure if it will spread wider than tall.

Regards,

Will