My Garden

Pruning Buddleia

Last post 25-10-2008 2:02 PM by Phot's-Moll. 7 replies.

• 19/10/2008 05:32 PM
  DavidN Location: Joined on: 14 Nov 2004 Posts: 7	Reply | Contact I've got a buddleia that has grown hugely this pat year. I suppose its is about 3m tall at its highest. People say: prune it hard. But what does this mean? Cut all the stems back to a metre, half a metre, ground level? Cut some of the stems to thin it? A little elaboration would be very welcome David North

• 20/10/2008 04:51 AM	In reply to
  filippo lippi Location: Nottingham Joined on: 25 Feb 2005 Posts: 297	Reply | Contact Ground level may be a bit much, but half a metre? Should be fine. They will stand a lot of pruning ------------------- Ow! My most of me!

• 20/10/2008 08:39 AM	In reply to
  sue1002 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk Joined on: 06 Sep 2005 Posts: 5,200	Reply | Contact  You can cut part of it back now but leave the hard pruning until spring. sue1002

• 21/10/2008 01:55 PM

  In reply to

  bogweevil Location: Joined on: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 2,043

  Reply | Contact If you think two-thirds you won't go far wrong - that would give you a 1m plant that will rebound to 2-3m, and so on year after year.  If you want a smaller bush you will have to cut to close to ground level. This is risky with older plants that have gone woody, but they are cheap to buy and quick-growing so it is no big deal if it snuffs. When you plant the new one, cut it back hard to near ground level after year 1 and it will never get old and woody lower down and will respond very well to hard pruning for years and years.   Boggy  Beware the bat-eared bogweevil

• 22/10/2008 01:39 PM	In reply to
  miranda Location: Oxfordshire Joined on: 17 Nov 2004 Posts: 2,976	Reply | Contact  The only big deal with a Buddleja snuffing it is that they can develop sturdy root systems and can be quite hard to dig out. This isn't a problem if the plant stands alone and you can go at it with a mattock, but can be tricky if there are a lot of other plants nearby.

• 22/10/2008 01:51 PM	In reply to
  bogweevil Location: Joined on: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 2,043	Reply | Contact The trick is not to cut them off too low and then you can use the stem(s) as  levers to waggle them, or even beat with a sledgehammer, about while hewing at the roots with pick axe and hatchet.  Boggy Beware the bat-eared bogweevil

• 25/10/2008 07:08 AM	In reply to
  DavidN Location: Joined on: 14 Nov 2004 Posts: 7	Reply | Contact  Thanks for that, and thanks for all the repies. Very useful. David North

• 25/10/2008 02:02 PM	In reply to
  Phot's-Moll Location: The sunny South coast. Joined on: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 3,347	Reply | Contact You could take some cuttings first if you don't want to lose it. Hardwood cuttings just bunged in the ground are very easy and often succesful. Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.