Does anyone here have experience with butterfly bushes being too
prolific? Last year, I found a teeny little butterfly bush plant
growing a good 60 ft. away from the original plant was, in a front
flower bed, although the original was all the way around the back of the
house. Yesterday, I noticed two more baby plants, growing 10 or 15 ft.
away from the large plant, and at least 5 or 6 more growing in the
vicinity of the baby plant in the front bed. What is going on? Do
buddleias propagate themselves through seed? The likely parent plant is
Lochinch, BTW.

While we're on the subject, do Tricyrtis spread by seed? While doing
some weeding yesterday, I noticed a ton of little baby plants. I had
attempted to establish 3 clumps, but thought I only had one surviving
clump. Now, it looks like I have them growing everywhere, in places
where the original (now deceased) plants were, as well as new spots, 2-3
ft. away from where the plants were. These plants are really tiny at
this point, with 3-4 leaves, max. But, that growth pattern is quite
distinctive, so I am sure that I am not mis-identifying them.

Maybe it is time I renamed my foundation bed the 'Thug Bed'. Between
Japanese Anemone, Monarda, Russian Sage, Sidalcea, Malva, et al., it is
just a jungle out there.

Suja

From: Suja
Date: Tue, Aug 19, 2003 9:12 AM
Message-id:


Does anyone here have experience with butterfly bushes being too
prolific? Last year, I found a teeny little butterfly bush plant
growing a good 60 ft. away from the original plant was, in a front
flower bed, although the original was all the way around the back of the
house. Yesterday, I noticed two more baby plants, growing 10 or 15 ft.
away from the large plant, and at least 5 or 6 more growing in the
vicinity of the baby plant in the front bed. What is going on? Do
buddleias propagate themselves through seed? The likely parent plant is
Lochinch, BTW.

snip

Oh yeah, they certainly do seed themselves around. I've even got several
different BBs coming up in cracks in the walk (and quite a distance from any
others).....and they're blooming. They don't look particularly true to any
likely parents, but they're sure pretty anyway.

Anyway, I've given away seedlings that do quite well, and transplanted some of
my own. Otherwise, it's easy enough to weed them out; they don't seem to
reproduce in the thousands or anything like that and they're shallow-rooted.

Best,
Tyra
nNJ usa z7a

"David Hill" wrote in message
...
" Do buddleias propagate themselves through seed? "

Yes very easily.
snip.

Due to it's rapid, and often untidy, growth Butterfly Bush is usually cut
back close to the ground each spring. This is an easy way of maintaining
an
attractive, healthy shrub for many years. "
--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

There are also some "dwarf" varieties that aren't out to take over the
world. They're not nearly as leggy as the standard varieties and are
prettier in my opinion. Varieties such as White Ball, Purple Plum, and Nanho
Purple all remain under 5' X 5'. The only pruning my Nanho Purple gets is an
occasional haircut between blooming periods as a lazy method of keeping it
deadheaded. I never have to cut it to the ground in the spring the way the
way I do the standards varieties. On the other hand, I have a Honeycomb that
often attains 8' X 8' by fall even after being cut to the ground each
spring. It, however, seems to be the favorite of the butterflies.

John

Suja said:

Does anyone here have experience with butterfly bushes being too
prolific? Last year, I found a teeny little butterfly bush plant
growing a good 60 ft. away from the original plant was, in a front
flower bed, although the original was all the way around the back of the
house. Yesterday, I noticed two more baby plants, growing 10 or 15 ft.
away from the large plant, and at least 5 or 6 more growing in the
vicinity of the baby plant in the front bed. What is going on? Do
buddleias propagate themselves through seed? The likely parent plant is
Lochinch, BTW.

Buddleia spread themselves by seed.

Buddleia davidii has an entry in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden publication
_Invasive Plants: Weeds of the Global Garden_.

"Butterfly bush does not yet present a serious problem but is spreading rapidly"
according to the book.

It "has escaped from cultivation along the eastern seaboard from Pennsylvania to
North Caronlina, and along the West Coast in California, Oregon and Washington."

"It generally colonizes disturbed areas such as roadsides and riparian zones."
(That last bit may be what could eventually be very troublesome.)

"Other members of this genus (for example, B. madagascarensis, B. lindleyana,
and B. asiatica) have also shown strong invasive ability while others (such as
B. globosa) have not."

While we're on the subject, do Tricyrtis spread by seed?

One presumes it does, if it is able to set and ripen seed. My clump never
has. Usually we have a killing frost before it is able to.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)