Fleemo wrote:

I hear that Butterfly Bushes are relatively easy to start from stem
cuttings. What's the proper procedure? How long should the cuttings
be? 6" or so? Should there be a blossom on the end of the cutting,
or would it be better to find a stem with no flower on it?

Pick a stem without a blossom; try to include a couple of nodes,
they're where a lot of roots will develop. Shorter is better,
all things considered. Fill a container with a drain hole with
sharp sand. Place it in a saucer that will hold an inch or so of
water. Dip the stem ends in rooting powder, and put them in the
sand so that the end is ABOVE the level of the water. When the
stems are well-rooted, you can transplant them to a pot with
good-quality potting soil for a season or so, or directly into
the ground. Start 2-3 times as many stems as you actually want.
That allows for some failures, and lets you pick the strongest
for transplanting.

As for deadheading a Butterfly Bush, just where should one make the
cut? Immediately beneath the flower cluster, or just above a
branching node?

Butterfly bushes are herbaceous, and you aren't going to get
reblooming on the cut stem, so I just always whack them back all
the way to the ground. It seems to encourage new growth, and
keep the bush from getting leggy.

Also, any idea as to whether different Butterfly Bushes could be
grafted on to the rootstock of a Butterfly Bush successfully? I have
rather limited full-sun areas, but would still love to have an
assortment of Butterfly Bush blooms.

Just plant the bushes close together. I've got a 2.5' x 8' patch
that's got 23 butterfly bushes of different sorts in it --
there's three hexed rows, with the tallest varieties in the back,
and dwarf ones in the front row. When they grow each year, it
looks very much like one large bush with a lot of different
flower types. This technique is called dense planting. You can
do it quite successfully as long as you are willing to pay a
little extra attention to the plants. Mine were planted in very
well-prepared soil . . . even after several months of no
attention, it's possible to dig in the soil with your bare
hands. They get a dose of compost three times a year -- in early
spring just before leaf-out, in the middle of the growing season,
and in the fall after die-back. I'm also diligent about making
sure they get deadheaded, and that any diseased matter is removed
immediately. We also make very sure to do thorough fall cleanup
to prevent carry-over of problems from year to year. A benefit
of dense planting are that the display is very full, rich, and
lush. Also, once the plants are established, it's almost
impossible for weeds to take hold . . .they're shaded out. And,
of course, it lets me have more varieties of more types of plants
in my yard without expanding onto yet another acre.

Chris Owens


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