Butterfly Bush

mr_burninator

From what i hear about most butterfly bushes you might not want to count it out just yet. Apparently they are pretty resiliant so i wouldn't be surprised if it'll back bud from whatever is left. Most buddleia cultivars break from dormancy late so don't get discouraged if nothing has happened yet. I just purchased two different butterfly bushes this past week so i'll have to let you know what species they are and maybe link a description or photo. Good luck keeping your dog from eating more of your plants.

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Bjorn

Mr Burninator,
how's the butterfly bush doing? It's been a while - are there any pics or new developments to report?

Alasdair

I grow buddleia as a full size bush in the back garden. Yes they are almost impossible to kill. You can cut them back to a few inches tall after flowering and they will be ten feet tall by the end of next growing season, it astonishing. As for bonsai buddleia it is something i have been experimenting with over the last few years, quite simply because i have an abundence of them.

The root from cuttings exceptionally easily. They take a while with almost no roots and then shoot out millions almost over night. I've managed to get some nice nebari in this way.
Air layering is also another easy cultivation method, with them taking in about a month on old wood. I havent tried any on new growth yet.
The leaves do seem rather huge as a full size specimen, but i've got them to reduce down to about an inch long, which aint bad.
As for the massive flower spikes which themselves can be about a foot long, i have found that on 1 year old plants from cuttings they flower well with spikes only a few inches long.

I'm working with a few cultivars and havent as of yet got anything substancial, i'm just learning. Give it a few years and i might be able to present one to everyone. Until then, i'll try and get some pictures and maybe become a bit of an expert in buddleia as bonsai.

Failing that i may end up turning round and saying it doesn't work. lets wait and see.

Al

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Bjorn

Hello,

still ... could I see some of your training stock?
And did you notice any difficulties in winter, root-freezing? branch-dieback?

Greetings

ethanopia

I've been messing with these plants and experimenting on a crop of volunteers for a few years as well as some mature ones that I have in my landscape.

They do back bud like crazy. I've cut one volunteer back to 1/3rd of its height 3 times this summer alone and it won't die. I planted it underneath a new crab and it grows up into the canopy of it so I have to keep it under control.

The problem with these in my climate is that the old wood dies in the cold. I pinched new growth on 6 or so volunteers last summer almost daily to see what would happen. They pumped out serious ramification and seemed very promising. But this year nothing grew on the old wood. It was a dead stick and they only grew suckers from the roots, hence the sugestion that you cut them back every year.

So this year I'm going to dig a few and take them inside and put them in the basement after they go dormant. Give them a rest period and then put them in a window, we shall see.

The other problem is that they don't flower if you continuley pinch them, you have to let them go for a while, and they do get leggy, and quick.

I think the Franklin Park Conservatory here in Columbushas one in it's permanent tropical bonsai collection. I will see if I can get a pic of it.

robert1955

I have 2 of these shrubs in my yard. I thought about making a bonsai out of them. Mine grow to about 15 ' tall and are very leggy. I have already hard pruned them twice this summer and in Nov, I will cut back to about a foot. They are really a nice bush, huge flowers and attracts humming birds galore.

Do keep us informed and if you do well with it, I'll give it a try.

Peace
bob

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Kylezo

Hello all, I am very excited to revive this thread! The info seems promising. Earlier today I took some hardwood cuttings of our huge buddleia in hopes of turning them into bonsai. I had no idea what I was doing and came here to see if, on a stretch, there might be some info. This thread is awesome and very inspiring! I am especially excited about this quote:




I am hoping to get some good leaf reduction and am also very excited to read that someone got some good flower reduction. The trunk texture of this 'shrub/tree' is phenomenal! My particular specimen also has a beautiful contrast between bark color and the foliage color, kind of a minty/muted fuzzy white green. Wish me luck!

Kylezo

I've returned to post some pictures of the cuttings I made in case anyone is interested or would like to comment. Here they are:



http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c...theshoot031.jpg


http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c390/kylestoner/theshoot038.jpg


Right now they are in the bathroom - where it's warm and very humid. I spray them with mist every so often. When I planted them both I used some ancient looking growth formula that said it would help with rooting, and put them in some potting soil along with medium sized bark shavings so things would drain well. I then placed the moss around the trunks to help keep in moisture. Anything I am forgetting?

I will put them in partial sun tomorrow and hopefully the foliage will stimulate root growth.

Kylezo

It looked like the cuttings had some droopy leaves today, and I got scared. My mom (master gardener) advised me that there was too many leaves on here for brand new cuttings, so I took off quite a few of them. I hope they survive! Does anyone have advice or experience for keeping these cuttings alive?