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Buddleia Moan

1634 Racine1634 Racine Posts: 568
in Plants
Need to get something off my chest.  Why is it that every Buddleia I see - in the cracks of a car park, on the edge of the railway track, clinging to life at the top of a 300ft cliff - seems to have more flowers, bigger flowers and better shape than the one in my garden which I give love and attention every year.

i am considering letting mine go ‘native’ now.  No pruning.  They are at the back of the border so they have some space to make their own.  Anyone else do this?


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  • Paul B3Paul B3 Posts: 3,154
    Not my favourite shrub by any stretch of the imagination ; my large Buddleia was moved to the end of my very long garden into relatively deep shade on a fairly dry bank .
    It still grows and flowers profusely ; still , it can do as it likes up there .
  • 1634 Racine1634 Racine Posts: 568
    I’m quite happy where mine is located @""Paul B3" It’s in part sun but I just wish it was a bit bushier and delivered some more flowers.  It’s a good 5 years old now I think but I am only getting maybe 5 main flowering stems.  What’s not to like when you get action like this? 😀




  • Paul B3Paul B3 Posts: 3,154
    Nice photos 1634 Racine ; unquestionably an excellent insect plant .
    Unfortunately can be a little too prolific in my opinion .
  • 1634 Racine1634 Racine Posts: 568
    Paul B3 said:
    Nice photos 1634 Racine ; unquestionably an excellent insect plant .
    Unfortunately can be a little too prolific in my opinion .
    Yeah I would like prolific.  But maybe I should be careful what I wish for!
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    There's a lovely white one growing on a scrap of waste ground at the end of my street. It's a show garden plant; perfect size, shape and covered in big flowers. Mine look a bit pathetic in comparison.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • 1634 Racine1634 Racine Posts: 568
    wild edges said:
    There's a lovely white one growing on a scrap of waste ground at the end of my street. It's a show garden plant; perfect size, shape and covered in big flowers. Mine look a bit pathetic in comparison.
    Yes.  This.
  • rwest78rwrwest78rw Posts: 24
    More branches will generally equal more flowers. So if you have five branches at the moment what I would do is cut it back in the early autumn leaving each branch maybe 2ft long. That tends to encourage the lower buds to develop a bit more.

    Then, come early spring, cut it back to leave two separate pairs of buds on each branch. They will then develop further into branches meaning you should get at least 20 branches from your five. 

    I do that each year and I've managed to get a really lovely shaped shrub with lots of flowers. In fact after a few years of doing that I now have to thin it out in spring as it gets so dense with branches.

    Buddliea get a bad press but I love them and so do insects. Pruned correctly they are lovely and neat and just so easy to look after. Much nicer than most other plants in my book. 

  • 1634 Racine1634 Racine Posts: 568
    Thanks @rwest78rw

    That sounds like good advice.  It’s probably bad pruning on my part that means I have lost the natural shape.  
  • rwest78rwrwest78rw Posts: 24
    To be honest they do take about five years with good pruning to really get going. Before that they tend to be a bit sparse and lanky. But like I say they will get there eventually. Do it right and it should at least double if not quadruple in branches each year. 

    I know most people only prune once in spring btw but by cutting it back a bit in autumn it really does focus all the energy on the lower buds ready for spring. Plus I find I have more room in my garden waste bin in autumn than I do spring so I like to clear as much of it away whilst I have the space. 

    Good luck! 
  • Big Blue SkyBig Blue Sky Posts: 716
    I was hoping the thread was about how to remove a buddleia. Our neighbours have one right next to our fence - I don’t like it and they don’t like it either. So they gave us permission to come over and remove it. We just don’t know how as it’s huge. 
    @Songbird-1 how did you manage to take yours out? Was it hard work?
    Surrey
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