I'm new to this gardening game, so please be gentle! =;-)

We have a buddleia in our back garden that's reached about 10 feet
tall, but has never been as thickly bushy or produced as many flowers
as we'd like. We want it to be thickly bushy to act as a screening
plant, but we want lots of flowers to attract butterflies (and to look
pretty, I guess!)

From what I've read, buddleias appreciate being cut back severely in
spring, but my questions are...

If I cut it back to the height suggested - it looks like about a foot
off the soil surface in the photos - how long will we have to wait
before it gets back up to a decent screening height of about 6 or 7
feet?

And during the flowering season, what should I do with the dead
flowerheads - should they be cut off as soon as they die, or should
they be left to their own devices?

All advice gratefully received!

On Tue, 11 Feb 2003 00:53:53 +0000 (UTC), GR
wrote:

I'm new to this gardening game, so please be gentle! =;-)

We have a buddleia in our back garden that's reached about 10 feet
tall, but has never been as thickly bushy or produced as many flowers
as we'd like. We want it to be thickly bushy to act as a screening
plant, but we want lots of flowers to attract butterflies (and to look
pretty, I guess!)

From what I've read, buddleias appreciate being cut back severely in
spring, but my questions are...

If I cut it back to the height suggested - it looks like about a foot
off the soil surface in the photos - how long will we have to wait
before it gets back up to a decent screening height of about 6 or 7
feet?

And during the flowering season, what should I do with the dead
flowerheads - should they be cut off as soon as they die, or should
they be left to their own devices?

All advice gratefully received!

Buddleias are extremely vigorous, so you could reasonably expect a
severely cut back plant to reach ten feet or so within a couple of
years depending on variety ( the 'wild' variety is rampant, the white
or Alba variety likewise - I find the deep purple types to be less so
).
You might want to consider cutting back in two stages - from its
present size cut it back to about three feet, enjoy this season's
blooms then cut it back further at the end of Autumn.

I find I get a better showing from an earlier pruning - and as they're
fairly shallow rooted shrubs it helps prevent the winter gales from
loosening the roots.

A good dose of manure in early spring gets them off to a good start.

The trick with pruning them is to cut back any main branches that go
straight up in favour of the ones that lie flat - and to keep the
centre of the shrub fairly open.
If you can get a thick branch to run horizontally from the base of the
shrub it'll put out shoots that grow straight up - thus providing a
nice wide aspect to the bush.

As regards dead heading - the flowers sit in groups of three, with a
'king flower' and two 'minions'. I tend to start off the flowering
season by dead heading the king flower once it's gone over - it allows
the remaining blooms to grow on more and keeps the bush looking neat.
Trouble is, they flower so profusely that I tend to give up halfway
through the season...and they seem to manage quite fine without my
input.
I've got at least 8 bushes - so dead heading is something of a
Herculean task in the height of Summer.

It's a great plant for a beginner - it's practically indestructible.
Even if you prune it flush with the ground it stands a good chance of
coming back at you, and sometimes seemingly dead stumps can throw up
shoots a couple of years later.
Better still is its readiness to reproduce from cuttings.

Just cut off a green stem in late summer, clip it just below a leaf
bud and strip the leaves off that bud, clip the stem off above the
next leaf bud ( leaving the leaves on ) and simply poke the stem into
a pot of compost. If you do nothing else you can reckon on 80% of the
cuttings taking root.

Buy yourself a butterfly pocket book ( if you haven't already got one
) - you're bound to need it sooner or later!

Regards,



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

GR wrote in message ...
I'm new to this gardening game, so please be gentle! =;-)

We have a buddleia in our back garden that's reached about 10 feet
tall, but has never been as thickly bushy or produced as many flowers
as we'd like. We want it to be thickly bushy to act as a screening
plant, but we want lots of flowers to attract butterflies (and to look
pretty, I guess!)

From what I've read, buddleias appreciate being cut back severely in
spring, but my questions are...

If I cut it back to the height suggested - it looks like about a foot
off the soil surface in the photos - how long will we have to wait
before it gets back up to a decent screening height of about 6 or 7
feet?

Mine gets pruned hard back every year and still reaches over 6', I
haven't done it yet this year, but it is usually a job for the end of
Feb for me. When I have finished it will be about 8 or 9" tall.

Mike
www.british-naturism.org.uk