When to cut back large Butterfly bush? archived

I don't know, but I'm here to say My Lovely Wife™ planted one last summer, and we're really enjoying it this summer.

They are wonderful,aren't they,Tom? In mid-July I was surrounded by all types of butterflies swirling around me my buttrfly bush and the Bee Balm. It was glorious!

Calli,
Consider a butterfly bush as a weed, it will never cease to grow and will only thrive when pruned to the ground. You should continually prune it all season. Keep on cutting off all the dead growth and feel free to cut it to the ground at the end of the season or the beginning of spring.
jml

Mine is thriving too, but very leggy. Nothing is dead, and blooms keep coming up at the tips, so I feel like I should not prune. However, I'd like a fuller bush. So I can prune away, laura grace, and will it then get more filled out?

So, LauraGrace, it is ok to cut it back now even though it is still producing blossoms and there doesn't seem to be any die off? I saw , somewhere in my travels, 2 HUGE butterfly bushes that were pruned to tree-like proportions---a trunk and a canopy. They were alive with hundreds of butterflies! I would love to do that to this one, but I guess that is not to be. :sad:

I will probably tackle it tomorrow morning. I will chronicle it in pictures.

Our Butterfly Bushes are in need of a good trimming too! (3 are Over 12 feet!) But right now there are so many Butterflies enjoying them, I think it's best to wait until the season is over before trimming!!

Posted By: laura graceCalli,
Consider a butterfly bush as a weed, it will never cease to grow and will only thrive when pruned to the ground. You should continually prune it all season. Keep on cutting off all the dead growth and feel free to cut it to the ground at the end of the season or the beginning of spring.
jml

The one I planted in my back yard died a week later..... :cry:

Something has happened to my normally green thumb this year!

1) Deadhead the bush and you will get more flowers, often within a few days.

2) The leggy bush need to be cut back. How far depends on your taste, but you can expect it to grow another foot this season.

3) Anytime after the first hard frost, cut them back hard. I do not cut mine to the ground, but to 36." Sometimes I do this in the fall, but more often in March as the seeds are bird food. I also thin them out. I do this because mine are in the back of the garden and I want them to show right from the start.

4) If you do not deadhead (I admit I am better at the deadheading at the beginning of the season) then you will get seedlings. Pull them up early in the spring or plan on living with them forever.

Thanks Max! I wonder if the seedlings can be used to create more butterfly bushes in the rest of the yard?

Well, my Butterfly Bush will live and bloom for another few days in the ridiculous position it is in. I was going to have at it when I came home from walking the dog this morning. But I took quite a spill on our walk and I'm pretty banged up.

Posted By: shanabanaI wonder if the seedlings can be used to create more butterfly bushes in the rest of the yard?

Yes, but you may be surprised by the colors, as some of the cultivars out there don't breed true.

OMG, Calli, are you OK??

And regarding the butterfly bush, you can cut it at any time. those things are very hard to kill. I trim mine year-round, and when they have dropped their leaves in the fall, I cut them back really hard, down to about three feet tall. They grow in much more full the following spring if they start out very short.

And yes, the seedlings can be used for more bushes. We are passing them out to the neighbors at this point. Our butterfly bushes are HUGE this year because of the wet spring. Wow.

By the way, Calli, I had a butterfly bush two years ago that fell over in a storm because of all the weight from the wet blooms. I cut it back to get rid of the weight, then held it upright while adding a couple gallon containers of new soil around the roots, then pushed it firmly back into the upright position. It's doing very well... 10 feet tall and full of butterflies as I type.

Posted By: PeggyCOMG, Calli, are you OK??

Yes, OMG! Do you need help? I am available at the beginning of the week to come by and give you a hand with anything.
As far as the bush goes, I usually do selective pruning this time of year because I do like to keep the butterflies happy. Let me know if you want me to come and prune it for you and heal quickly!

calli, woah!

I could be brave and noble and tell you I am fine. But I hurt. A lot. Right ankle, left knee, left palm and I really messed up my left elbow. I am loaded with neosporin and band aids have an ice pack on my knee and a hot water bottle on my back(which on a good day has 3 herniated disks) I have dosed myself with Naproxin and will take my last Flexoril before I go to bed. So thanks for asking. And thanks for the offers to help,but I think the Butterfly Bush will have to wait.

Oh geez Calli!!! Feel better!

Thanks, Melissa. Gotta go to work tomorrow---so I have to feel better.

Here is one of the visitors today when I took pictures BEFORE I walked the dog.

I think that's a Tiger Swallowtail, but I am no expert.

Feel better Calli take care of yourself.:flowers::flowers::flowers:

Thank you,Lucy :winkkiss:

Hope the ice packs and painkillers did the trick. How are you feeling today?

Are there varieties that do not require full sun? I'd like to plant some next to our garage in back, and that gets only a few hours of sun a day, if that, due to tree cover.