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

On 20/07/2014 20:13, Kate wrote:
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


Set the poor thing free.
Plant it into open ground ASAP and water and feed it well.
Once it has got its self established they you can prune it back hard
each spring.
It won't go berserk like your old budleija

On 20/07/2014 20:13, Kate wrote:
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!

My guess is that you've overwatered it. Buddlejas can grow in very
poor, but dry, conditions (which is why you can see them growing on the
top of old walls of derelict buildings). The most common cause of yellow
leaves in almost any pot plant is overwatering. Remove it from the pot
and see if the compost is wet. Even if it isn't, I would clean off the
oil soil, and repot it in a very free-draining compost to see if it
recovers.

As to keeping a potted Buddleja on the small side, I don't know if it is
possible. You would be trying to grow it as a bonsai, and maybe it is
too vigorous for that. Going back to those growing on the top of walls,
they seem to get to a pretty decent size if you ask me!

--

Jeff

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).

"Kate" wrote in message
...
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

My experience has been that buddlieas in pots will soon burst out of the
bottom of them to root in your block paving. that you paid thousands for.

On 7/23/2014 7:46 PM, Christina Websell wrote:

My experience has been that buddlieas in pots will soon burst out of the
bottom of them to root in your block paving. that you paid thousands for.

Try raising the pot off the ground. I use 'pot toes'.

On Sun, 20 Jul 2014 19:13:46 +0000 (UTC), Kate wrote:

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

I don't know much about potted ones but even the normal ones behaved OK for me so long as
I cut them back each year. I think I cut the branches that were in the way too much, at
the end of summer and trimmed the ones growing in the wrong place, in spring.

Kath

TYoo
"S Viemeister" wrote in message
...
On 7/23/2014 7:46 PM, Christina Websell wrote:

My experience has been that buddlieas in pots will soon burst out of the
bottom of them to root in your block paving. that you paid thousands for.

Try raising the pot off the ground. I use 'pot toes'.


Too late