On 21 July, 18:57, Sally Thompson wrote:
Hi, not posted for a while because rather a lot of RL intervening. *Two years
ago I rescued some very small buddleias which we had been given by a friend
(no idea when!) and which had been languishing half-dead in pots ever since. *
I planted some out but popped four temporarily in my nursery bed to keep them
alive, and there they still are for various reasons, currently in flower,
spindly and straggly but still alive. *I really must move them this year, and
I had planned to cut them right back and move them to some large prepared
holes in the autumn. *Is this the right time/method to do this? And is there
any other helpful advice out there?

No idea of varieties, except that there are two white ones (which may be
"Moonlight"), one pinky one and one purple one.

--
Sally in Shropshire, UK
Posted through uk.rec.gardening

In my experience with buddleias, they are probably best moved without
the pruning, initially. I know they are seen as plants that can
withstand relatively harsh conditions but I find that they appreciate
a chance to become established somewhat before you cut them back.

My white ones dont seem quite so bad, but the purple ones can be quite
loathed to grow if the conditions are not to their liking. I would not
wait until Autumn - I would plant them out now and give them a chance
to get their roots well established before winter in their new home.
But, remember to give them water at regular intervals. Even though
they are drought tolerant plants, they need some TLC if you want
decent strong specimens.

I find the white varieties to be much more vigorous than the purple
ones (but that might just be the varieties I have), so I would
recommend that you take care to think ahead and not plant them in a
position where the white might shade out the purple in the future.

I suggest not pruning them until next March when you see how they have
fared over the winter, and if they are looking healthy cut them hard
back and they should be ok.