Following some excellent advice from this newsgroup back in the
spring, I hacked back my 12-foot-tall buddleia to about 3 feet.

It's now back at around 10 feet and the blooms have started, but I'm
rather disappointed in them. The flower spikes are not as thickly
covered in blooms as I'd like; typically, each spike will have a ring
of flowers, then a bit of bare stem, then some more flowers, and so on
out towards the tip. The flower covering improves out at the tip, but
nearer the body of the plant it's more like a "poodle cut" effect.

I really want to improve the density of the flowers on each spike, so
has anyone got any suggestions as to what I'm doing wrong? Is it
simply malnutrition? BTW, I don't know the precise species of
buddleia, but the flowers are a deep purple colour.

The really annoying thing is, I see buddleia growing wild and
completely untended that has thicker, denser blooms than mine!

Cheers,

Gareth

On Mon, 14 Jul 2003 09:45:54 +0000 (UTC), GR
wrote:

Following some excellent advice from this newsgroup back in the
spring, I hacked back my 12-foot-tall buddleia to about 3 feet.

It's now back at around 10 feet and the blooms have started, but I'm
rather disappointed in them. The flower spikes are not as thickly
covered in blooms as I'd like; typically, each spike will have a ring
of flowers, then a bit of bare stem, then some more flowers, and so on
out towards the tip. The flower covering improves out at the tip, but
nearer the body of the plant it's more like a "poodle cut" effect.

I really want to improve the density of the flowers on each spike, so
has anyone got any suggestions as to what I'm doing wrong? Is it
simply malnutrition? BTW, I don't know the precise species of
buddleia, but the flowers are a deep purple colour.

The really annoying thing is, I see buddleia growing wild and
completely untended that has thicker, denser blooms than mine!

Tough as the old Bud is, it will have put a lot of energy into
throwing up new growth after being hacked back, so the first year's
flowers after a short back and sides are bound to be a bit less then
spectacular.

Also, I've found the deep purple varieties to be a bit less prolific
with the blooms in comparison to the standard 'wild' light purple one.
The Alba ( white ) variety is possibly the best flowerer of all, in my
experience.

Feeding the Bud is a bit tricky - I found that if you feed it in the
spring you just end up with lots of long, leafy stems that just seem
to keep on growing.
I tend to apply a manure dressing round about late Autumn, when I cut
the shrub back.
Just how much good this does I'm not sure - some of the best flowering
Buds I've seen have dwelt in the most inhospitable places.

What's the light like for your Bud? I get the best results when the
plants are blasted by full sun. Shaded Buds seem to grow very
straggly.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

There is probably no harm in giving it a standard dose of potash.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com

GR wrote in message . ..
Following some excellent advice from this newsgroup back in the
spring, I hacked back my 12-foot-tall buddleia to about 3 feet.

It's now back at around 10 feet and the blooms have started, but I'm
rather disappointed in them. The flower spikes are not as thickly
covered in blooms as I'd like; typically, each spike will have a ring
of flowers, then a bit of bare stem, then some more flowers, and so on
out towards the tip. The flower covering improves out at the tip, but
nearer the body of the plant it's more like a "poodle cut" effect.

I really want to improve the density of the flowers on each spike, so
has anyone got any suggestions as to what I'm doing wrong? Is it
simply malnutrition? BTW, I don't know the precise species of
buddleia, but the flowers are a deep purple colour.

The really annoying thing is, I see buddleia growing wild and
completely untended that has thicker, denser blooms than mine!

Cheers,

Gareth

It is hardly likely to be malnutrition. I have just been out to deal
with one that is growing out of my roof! They will grow almost
anywhere.

I am wondering if it is the variety you have? Did you buy the bush?
It almost sounds as if it is a peculiar hybrid. The standard
buddleias are usually all varieties of B. davidii but there is a
hybrid with B. globosa (the orange Ball buddleia) called B. x
weyeriana that has a growth form something like you describe but it
has yellow flowers. There are some backcrosses which have been
developed in the USA.

Neil Jones- http://www.butterflyguy.com/
"At some point I had to stand up and be counted. Who speaks for the
butterflies?" Andrew Lees - The quotation on his memorial at Crymlyn
Bog National Nature Reserve