Quote:
Originally Posted by Kate
Hi 
I've grown buddlejas in the past and really loved them for the scent and
all the bees and butterflies. But they would just get crazily out of
control and in the end I got rid of them and decided to grow a dwarf
buddleja in a pot instead.
I got a Blue Chip 18 months ago, so this is its second year, and it's not
doing well. Barely a foot tall, some yellowing leaves (but still alive),
no flowers. Last year there were 2 or 3 small flower heads that appeared
very late (maybe even in October?).
Obviously I don't expect it to be as vigorous as I'm used to with non-
dwarf varieties, but it's doing so badly that I'm about ready to give up
on it. I've fed it and watered it, but I feel like I'm wasting my time.
My question is: would it be out of the question to grow a full-size
buddleja (Black Knight say) in a pot, and try to keep it in control by
pruning during the flowering season? I'm guessing that the restricted
space for the roots would limit its growth somewhat. I'd like to keep it
to 4 foot and not too bushy. Is it a waste of time even trying??
Thanks!
Kate x |
Blue Chip is awful in pots or in the ground - slow to flower, disease prone and ugly. Other dwarf Buddlejas are better but in general they are not a patch on the real thing. You can choose cultivars that stay at 5ft if you keep to a rigorous spring pruning regime. T&M's Buzz are not bad and the older Butterfly series are also well behaved: I would recommend Purple Emperor.
I grow many Buddlejas in pots but it is hard work and they last only a few years. They lose their vigour and the flowers get poorer. A plant like Black Knight they still wants to grow big even if the roots are restricted. You can keep cutting back through the summer but the flowering is then compromised.
My advice is that you need a succession of young plants by constantly taking cuttings. In a large pot a year old plant will be 4ft and flower profusely. But the next year it will be stunted unless you root prune, re-pot and feed heavily. After a few years you would need a really big pot for it to be happy.
Even dwarves like the Buzz series only have a finite life in a pot and would be better in the ground.
Andrew (The Buddleja Garden).