Cut back halfway in autumn to prevent wind rock and resulting ice around the roots … but as you say the resulting regrowth in the spring can be poor … so prune hard back properly in spring for lush new growth and a well shaped bush 😃
I’m thinking of pruning it hard this week down to about a foot. Do I need to worry about the frost getting to it though?
You can also prune in 'tiers' which can be useful. I do that with mine because they're part of the boundary. I leave the outer ones [next to the fence] a little longer, and hack the front ones hard, and I can then do a bit more later on to extend the flowering. If I can be bothered
Oh yes I read about that pruning later in the season it extends the flowering for a little longer. Thanks.
Mine has been growing for a little while because we've had no real winter. I won't be cutting back for while though. Too early, and any new growth can get annihilated. We often get snow in late March, never mind all the frosts just now, and continuing through April. It would recover, but it means it flowers later, and less well, so I usually wait until mid April to do mine.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Ooh, I've never had a frost hard enough to really affect my buddleia. A late one might make the new foliage droop a bit or go a bit crispy round the edges, but it grows away as if nothing had happened. I'll take @Fairygirl's word that it can be worse. As usual, "it depends where you are", and maybe some varieties aren't quite as hardy as mine (which is "Black Knight").
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I grow that one too @JennyJ It's a lovely colour isn't it? I made the mistake of cutting both of mine back earlier last year, probably around this time, because it suddenly became quite pleasant after the more normal winter weather we'd had prior to that. That was a bad idea! It was fine - eventually, but it delayed flowering quite a bit, despite the very warm/hot summer.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
This has been the warmest winter I can ever remember, and I've lived in this area [more or less] my entire life. e would normally have at least 50 to 60 frosts, starting in October, and I know without looking at my little notebook that we've had nowhere near that. It's also been the driest. Good saving on the central heating though, which has been fortuitous. I'm not cutting anything back just yet
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thank you. I’m in the south east. It’s very tricky to make decisions as a beginner because there is so much conflicting information. Monty’s website says February is fine if you’re in the south. Doesn’t mention anything about frost damage, sigh, so confusing.
Back in the day with no internet and just a book and instincts to go by would’ve been so much better!
I cut mine back in early March last year, as usual ... we had some very late frosts and the front garden, where the buddleja is, is a bit of a frost pocket so quite prone to frost, but it was absolutely fine ... so I would not be at all worried about cutting yours back now. I'll be doing mine any day now ...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
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I won't be cutting back for while though. Too early, and any new growth can get annihilated. We often get snow in late March, never mind all the frosts just now, and continuing through April.
It would recover, but it means it flowers later, and less well, so I usually wait until mid April to do mine.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It's a lovely colour isn't it?
I made the mistake of cutting both of mine back earlier last year, probably around this time, because it suddenly became quite pleasant after the more normal winter weather we'd had prior to that. That was a bad idea!
It was fine - eventually, but it delayed flowering quite a bit, despite the very warm/hot summer.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I'm not cutting anything back just yet
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Back in the day with no internet and just a book and instincts to go by would’ve been so much better!
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.