Butterfly Bush

mr_burninator

Long time no talk... hope everyone is well. So the other day i was outside enjoying the nice weather and with my new appreciation for plants and trees (thanks to bonsai) i noticed a bush with exceptional bark texture and some nice looking flowers. With the help of various resources i was able to determine that it was a butterfly bush (Buddleia).

Since i haven't heard anyone mention this plant within the context of bonsai, i hit the internet and did some research about its growing habbits. I found that, among many other desirable attributes,: 1. it's tollerates many different growing conditions, 2. can be so hardy that it's almost hard to kill, 3. Back-buds very well even on old wood, 4. displays various colored flowers and pleasant fragrances depending on the cultivar.

The only thing that i could see that would pass for a negative aspect is that it can grow so vigorously that it can lose it's form and become overgrown very quickly. However, i believe that like a ficus, chinese elm, or other fast growing trees, it would just make for better ramification when kept under control.

Check this site out for a more thorough description http://butterflywebsite.com/articles/bgq/buddleia.htm. I was hoping that anyone out there that knows more about Buddleia as bonsai, or has some personal experience with this plant would share their knowledge. Unless there's a real problem i plan on being a little daring and giving it a shot so any advice is welcome. I'll let you guys know how it goes. Thanks.

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mr_burninator

anybody got anything?

__________________
<------------ Thomas Newton



Do not be afraid to go out on a limb ... That's where the fruit is.
- Anonymous

Gary Biggs

Burni,

I think my first question to you would be are these bushes capable of secondary and tertiary branching? If they do not ramify , then I would not think they would be good for bonsai, at least not inb the tradional sense.

Gary

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bmor

mr burinator,

i offer these thoughts only as a person whose experience with these bushes are in the garden not as bonsai or potensai.

the growth on these shrubs in my area (zone 6) begins about now(june) and continues into late august (slowing into september). the growth can be as much as 7 feet for my budleia. you would be one busy person for those summer months, pruning almost daily is suspect. the flowers themselves extend from branch tips and those masses are almost 6 inches in length (not sure how you'd scale them down). the back budding is strong with these shrubs; and in fact it is generally accepted to cut these back to three to four inches from the ground in the very early spring due to their vigourous growth.

i'm by no means saying don't do it, just offering what limited knowledge/thoughts i have on the subject.

best of luck.

bill

mr_burninator

That is certainly a real concern Gary, but if what bmor says is true it seems they have very strong back budding and since they seem to take so well to even hard pruning i would think ramification wouldn't be a problem. Actually it sounds more like too much ramification would be a problem.

bror, i did think about the flower scale problem too. Besides just searching for a cultivar with smaller flowers, i was wondering if it was possible to treat the proportionality problem like is done with azaleas. Even though azalea flowers are obviously too large for most trees they are so abundant that they blanket the canopy and circumvent the problem similar to how foliar pads fixes the problem of leaf/needle size.

In your opinion (or anyone else's that might have some experience with buddleia), do you think it's possible to be able to pull off directing attention to the sum instead of the parts with this type of plant. If not it still might give an intersting weeping look like that of a wisteria.

__________________
<------------ Thomas Newton



Do not be afraid to go out on a limb ... That's where the fruit is.
- Anonymous

larry mac

While browsing around a local nursery a few weeks ago I noticed a somewhat pitiful (for a bush) plant in a gallon container. It had an old wood appearence to the trunk, similar to boxwood, a short trunk and interesting branching structure, so I picked it up and brought it home. Kind of like a stray plant. It's a little tall now and needs to be cut back to the older branches. All of the blooms are at the end of fairly long branches.

The info on the container says:

Buddleia variety nanhoensis 'Nanho Blue'

Butterfly Bush

Spreading dwarf habit of about 5' high, the mauve-blue flowers lie in a bed of silver-green foliage. Attracts butterflies, hummingbirds and bees. Prefers full sun in dry, well-drained soils. Deciduous. Zones 6-10

regards. lm

mr_burninator

Thanks lm. I'm hoping to get one and take it on as a little side project that will hopefully be a good learning experience and maybe even turn out to be a successful bonsai. Seems to me to have a lot of good attributes but i like to be as knowledgable as possible before i undertake something. Maybe i'll even find out that it's grossly underrated as a bonsai and can start a trend. By the way, welcome to the forum and keep those posts comming.

__________________
<------------ Thomas Newton



Do not be afraid to go out on a limb ... That's where the fruit is.
- Anonymous

Gary Biggs

Buri,

Well, you seem determined to move ahead. Good luck and be certain to keep us informed of your progress with this bush.

Gary

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Como gastamos nuestros dias es como gastamos nuestras vidas.

mr_burninator

Hey i figure it'll give me more to do considering i only have one bonsai tree at the moment and i have to constantly tell myself to just leave it alone. I'm afraid i'm going to kill it with attention! So hopefully a butterfly bush will give me the opportunity to get out some of my bonsai energy and sharpen my skills while i'm at it. Thanks for the input and encouragement.

__________________
<------------ Thomas Newton



Do not be afraid to go out on a limb ... That's where the fruit is.
- Anonymous