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Huge buddleja

mchuamchua Posts: 210
in Plants

Hi I have a huge buddleja. When would be the best time to give it a hard prune?
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  • Alan Clark2 in LiverpoolAlan Clark2 in Liverpool Posts: 2,190
    Now would be fine. If it is B. davidii you can prune it any time between now and April.
  • mchuamchua Posts: 210
    Thanks. How brutal can I be with it? All of the spent flowers are high up, and the twigs are actually easy to just snap, so maybe there many dead branches?
  • mchuamchua Posts: 210
    Like could I go at it with a saw low down?
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Normally, they get cut back by about a third at this time of year, to avoid wind rock, and hard pruned in early spring, but you can chop it back hard if you want. They're pretty robust  :)
    I've often used a saw on them.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    As above, general advice is to reduce the height before winter and then again in spring. So you could chop it down to a metre and then lower if you need to in spring. 
    They do well after being cut hardback but I think they look better more quickly, if you create a framework.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I don't think wind rock will do any harm to that baby. 
    I'd go down to about .5m and let it start again.
    Devon.
  • mchuamchua Posts: 210
    Hostafan1 said:
    I don't think wind rock will do any harm to that baby. 
    I'd go down to about .5m and let it start again.
    Haha I know right? Absolute beast. 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    .5 is quite generous @Hostafan1 :D
    I hacked back the huge white one I inherited here, to around a foot, to move it. It got dumped in a corner with a bit of soil chucked at it. Needless to say - it was fine  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I dug up a small ( ish ) ( 4ft tall ) one when moving The Rock , not a bit of soil on the roots and by spring it came into leaf. I felt so guilty I planted it, and it's fine now.
    Devon.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    The younger, less mature ones are more likely to be affected by wind rock, but it also depends where they're planted. They're quite shallow rooting, which is the usual reason for the autumn tidy up. 
    I could leave mine, because they're behind a boundary fence, so they're pretty protected.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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