No web links as responses, please. I'm looking for input from people who've
actually owned & maintained a butterfly bush, preferably in a northern
climate, zone 5-7. I'm in 5/6, depending on luck (Rochester NY). No
theoretical responses, in other words, like marital advice from priests.

My new (as of 9/04) house came complete with a butterfly bush near the front
door. It's 6' high & 8' wide - a real monster, considering it's position
near the sidewalk. In its center are 3 dead "trunks" about 3" thick. The
previous owner cut them down to 3' and used them as attachment points for
wires which support the outer, thinner branches (not sure that's
necessary-they seem woody and stiff enough). The bulk of the growth looks
like what you'd call "suckers", if they were coming out of the base of a
small tree. These branches were very healthy last fall, supporting lots of
good leaf & flower growth, and poking everyone in the face as we walked by.

I pruned some of the pokiest branches back a bit (for safety) in September,
and they grew back quickly within a couple of weeks. What I'd like to know
is whether I can whack the whole thing back by half, in the hope that maybe
I'll end up with a 3-5' diameter, instead of 8+ feet. The thing seems to
grow like a weed. Is it bulletproof enough for drastic measures?

This is the only flower I've ever seen which attracted bees the size of
grapefruits. Absolutely amazing to watch.

Doug Kanter wrote:
No web links as responses, please. I'm looking for input from people who've
actually owned & maintained a butterfly bush, preferably in a northern
climate, zone 5-7. I'm in 5/6, depending on luck (Rochester NY). No
theoretical responses, in other words, like marital advice from priests.

My new (as of 9/04) house came complete with a butterfly bush near the front
door. It's 6' high & 8' wide - a real monster, considering it's position near
the sidewalk. In its center are 3 dead "trunks" about 3" thick. The previous
owner cut them down to 3' and used them as attachment points for wires which
support the outer, thinner branches (not sure that's necessary-they seem woody
and stiff enough). The bulk of the growth looks like what you'd call
"suckers", if they were coming out of the base of a small tree. These branches
were very healthy last fall, supporting lots of good leaf & flower growth, and
poking everyone in the face as we walked by.

I pruned some of the pokiest branches back a bit (for safety) in September,
and they grew back quickly within a couple of weeks. What I'd like to know is
whether I can whack the whole thing back by half, in the hope that maybe I'll
end up with a 3-5' diameter, instead of 8+ feet. The thing seems to grow like
a weed. Is it bulletproof enough for drastic measures?

This is the only flower I've ever seen which attracted bees the size of
grapefruits. Absolutely amazing to watch.

I have two in my backyard, and had one in my front yard. They can be cut back
pretty drastically. Very drastically. They only need to have a few leaves on
living branches, and they'll still come back to take over the yard by
mid-summer.

The one that I had in the front yard started a bad winter with too much growth.
Three days of ice and heavy snow weighted it down so badly that one of the main
trunks cracked vertically. I had to cut back so far to remove the damage that
there wasn't enough left to live. I'm not upset. The nearby roses that it was
choking out grew like gang busters that year.

For the most part, you should be able to cut back to where the branches bend
over, and leave nothing put upright growth, as long as there's some leaves left.
My neighbor still cuts back further than I feel comfortable doing myself, but
his keep coming back, and my remaining bushes keep trying to take over the
backyard. He's still surprised that I was able to kill the one I did.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
We're down to the wire. Do you need tax software?
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/taxes/index.html

Doug Kanter wrote:
No web links as responses, please. I'm looking for input from
people who've actually owned & maintained a butterfly bush,
preferably in a northern climate, zone 5-7. I'm in 5/6, depending
on luck (Rochester NY). No theoretical responses, in other words,
like marital advice from priests.
My new (as of 9/04) house came complete with a butterfly bush near
the front door. It's 6' high & 8' wide - a real monster,
considering it's position near the sidewalk. In its center are 3
dead "trunks" about 3" thick. The previous owner cut them down to
3' and used them as attachment points for wires which support the
outer, thinner branches (not sure that's necessary-they seem woody
and stiff enough). The bulk of the growth looks like what you'd
call "suckers", if they were coming out of the base of a small
tree. These branches were very healthy last fall, supporting lots
of good leaf & flower growth, and poking everyone in the face as we
walked by.
I pruned some of the pokiest branches back a bit (for safety) in
September, and they grew back quickly within a couple of weeks.
What I'd like to know is whether I can whack the whole thing back
by half, in the hope that maybe I'll end up with a 3-5' diameter,
instead of 8+ feet. The thing seems to grow like a weed. Is it
bulletproof enough for drastic measures?
This is the only flower I've ever seen which attracted bees the
size of grapefruits. Absolutely amazing to watch.

You can prune it to the ground in late winter and it will grow from its
roots in the spring and flower in the summer.

--

Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8b
Sunset Zone 5

"Travis" expounded:

You can prune it to the ground in late winter and it will grow from its
roots in the spring and flower in the summer.

If you prune it to the ground around here in late winter you'll kill
it.

Prune it when you see the first burst of growth in late spring.

--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

does this bush require FULL sun.....................its sounds like
a wonderful summer privacy barrier!

--

In article , "rosie read n' post" wrote:
does this bush require FULL sun.....................its sounds like
a wonderful summer privacy barrier!


Mine's in part sun and does just fine, you'll get lot's of volunteers all over
the yard too.
cheers,
Jim

"rosie read n' post" wrote in message
...
does this bush require FULL sun.....................its sounds like
a wonderful summer privacy barrier!

Mine gets about 1/2 day of sun. I've never seen one in full sun, so I can't
really say if the leaf density on mine is as good as it could be. However,
it does NOT provide opacity - a solid wall of green. Maybe someone with a
full-sun specimen can add to this.

"Ann" wrote in message
...
"Travis" expounded:

You can prune it to the ground in late winter and it will grow from its
roots in the spring and flower in the summer.

If you prune it to the ground around here in late winter you'll kill
it.

This sounds right. When I pruned mine a little in September, it immediately
began sending out new growth. I wouldn't want to suggest that idea to the
plant when there's still a risk of temps in the teens.

I have some in full sun and some in part sun. The ones in full sun get
denser. The ones I deadhead frequently get really lush.

EM

"Doug Kanter" expounded:

"Ann" wrote in message
.. .
"Travis" expounded:

You can prune it to the ground in late winter and it will grow from its
roots in the spring and flower in the summer.

If you prune it to the ground around here in late winter you'll kill
it.

This sounds right. When I pruned mine a little in September, it immediately
began sending out new growth. I wouldn't want to suggest that idea to the
plant when there's still a risk of temps in the teens.


Yea, that's the problem. Pruning encourages growth on buddlejas. In
our climate that would be a death sentence before mid-May at the
earliest.
--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
******************************

I realize they're pretty plants and are a blast to have around if you
like watching insects, but given it's vigor, flowering rates, overall
hardiness and other traits, why doesn't buddleia strike people as a
potentially dangerous plant?

Why in god's name would anyone dump something like this into the
environment? (If this was GMO corn, people would be burning down fabric
mills in anger. :-)


http://www.usna.usda.gov/Gardens/invasives.html

John Thomas wrote:
I realize they're pretty plants and are a blast to have around if you like
watching insects, but given it's vigor, flowering rates, overall hardiness and
other traits, why doesn't buddleia strike people as a potentially dangerous
plant?

Why in god's name would anyone dump something like this into the environment?
(If this was GMO corn, people would be burning down fabric mills in anger. :-)


http://www.usna.usda.gov/Gardens/invasives.html


Butterfly bush is not invasive. As the first sentence in the link you provided
states, "An invasive plant has the ability to thrive and spread aggressively
outside its natural range." That means you plant one or two, and eventually you
get dozens spreading from the originally intended spot. Butterfly bushes don't
do that.

Butterfly bush is a very aggressive grower. A single plant can go from not much
more than a stick with a couple of leaves to a bush big enough to hide a small
shack in just a few months. But you won't have a dozen new butterfly bushes.

It's a very aggressive grower, but it's not the least bit invasive.

You want to get rid of it? Just dig up the one plant, and you're done with it.
It doesn't send out runners. It doesn't reseed. It won't come back from that
little bit of root you missed.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
We're down to the wire. Do you need tax software?
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/taxes/index.html

In article , wrote:

I realize they're pretty plants and are a blast to have around if you
like watching insects, but given it's vigor, flowering rates, overall
hardiness and other traits, why doesn't buddleia strike people as a
potentially dangerous plant?

Why in god's name would anyone dump something like this into the
environment? (If this was GMO corn, people would be burning down fabric
mills in anger. :-)


http://www.usna.usda.gov/Gardens/invasives.html

B. davidii is in the top-20 invasive pest-plants in England. It has never
been given such a high pest status in the USA, as it is believed to share
the environment rather than displace native species, a debatable premise.
There is no question but that it is long naturalized on both coasts.

Here in Kitsap County, Washington state, it is common along major highways
& puts on quite a show every summer. I've wondered whether these were
planned plantings from before it was known to be a bad idea (scotch brooms
were planted along our roadsides on purpose to hold up embankments, then
fifty years later it is illegal to harbor them, but that's about 50 years
too late to stop their eternal spread; in the east they made the same
mistake with Japanese barberries), or whether the roadside butterfly
bushes are all self-seeded escapees.

However, many of the cultivars, including virtually all the semi-dwarfs
which are still quite big, have a low rate of viable seed, & are not the
same plants as those which have already escaped cultivation. Plus, if the
shrubs are pruned back in early autumn, they will not have the opportunity
to disperse seeds. There's also the alternative butterfly bush B. globosa,
which isnt' invasive.

Another commonly planted invasive shrub is Hibiscus syriacus
rose-of-sharon. But a great many sterile cultivars do exist. A whole
series of sterile rose of sharons were developed at the very National
Aboretum you cited above, & I have one of these, called 'Aphrodite.'

-paghat the ratgirl
--
Get your Paghat the Ratgirl T-Shirt he
http://www.paghat.com/giftshop.html
"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden
people maintaining a free civil government." -Thomas Jefferson

"Doug Kanter" wrote:

"rosie read n' post" wrote in message
...
does this bush require FULL sun.....................its sounds like
a wonderful summer privacy barrier!

Mine gets about 1/2 day of sun. I've never seen one in full sun, so I can't
really say if the leaf density on mine is as good as it could be. However,
it does NOT provide opacity - a solid wall of green. Maybe someone with a
full-sun specimen can add to this.

I have around twenty of them, the ones in full sun are thicker than
the others, but they do not provide the kind of screen that say a line
of evergreen trees or bamboo would. None of mine except a weeping
buddleia are left to grow on their own, I cut them back hard in early
spring. If they were only trimmed a little bit, they might become
thicker over time. I really do not know. They are definitely thicker
if you take the time to deadhead them religiously.

--

pull the weeds to email me:

Warren wrote:

Butterfly bush is not invasive. As the first sentence in the link you provided
states, "An invasive plant has the ability to thrive and spread aggressively
outside its natural range." That means you plant one or two, and eventually you
get dozens spreading from the originally intended spot. Butterfly bushes don't
do that.

Butterfly bush is a very aggressive grower. A single plant can go from not much
more than a stick with a couple of leaves to a bush big enough to hide a small
shack in just a few months. But you won't have a dozen new butterfly bushes.

It's a very aggressive grower, but it's not the least bit invasive.

Wrong on all counts. With many varieties, it definitely spreads,
reseeds, and it certainly considered an invasive pest in many areas.