Buddleia davidii

[James M]

Hi all, I have several buddleia davidii growing in the garden and I was wondering what is the best time to prune them for a good crop of flowers and how? Also I wanted to take some cuttings, what's the best time and way to do this?

[Tormentil]

I think they should be cut back around March/April time. Thats when I do mine anyway.

[Paul mabbott]

I chop mine back in September/October, when they have finished flowering/seeding - earlier if I want to stop them seeding all over the place!

You don't ask but I cut them back to a constant height - about 2m - I know some people cut them back more drastically, so that could affect timing .... ?

[Tormentil]

I cut the flowers off once they've gone over but leave the main prune until as I said earlier. Cutting the flower heads off sometimes results in another, smaller, show.

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by James M

Hi all, I have several buddleia davidii growing in the garden and I was wondering what is the best time to prune them for a good crop of flowers and how? Also I wanted to take some cuttings, what's the best time and way to do this?

Sorry, in my rushed response I hadn't read all of your question

Cuttings are not difficult - I simply take my September trimmings and push them into the ground (to 100-250mms) - the soil here is always moist so in drier climes you might want to water them well and then cover them with plastic, or a cloche.

I don't actually take cutting as such - just use the trimmings for pea sticks and half of them root!

PS: One of those taxonomic changes - the species is now Buddleja davidii ...

[mrs fish]

I don't prune mine until march as the dunnock loves the seeds

[Lance Morgan]

Originally Posted by mrs fish

I don't prune mine until march as the dunnock loves the seeds

Buddleia should be pruned hard back leaving 3" of new wood in the early Spring .
I usually cut mine in late march.

[James M]

Thanks everyone for the advice

[Gytrash]

Buddleias are prone to damage over winter from snow or high winds (as are lavateras). I tend to prune back to around waist height for established shrubs in autumn. Then in early spring you can give them a more severe prune to ensure a compact bush that summer.

If you have a few buddleia shrubs, you could stagger the time you prune in spring so that some bushes start to flower later than others, in theory giving a longer flowering season for the butterflies.
You can of course dead-head the shrubs as they turn to seed to encourage more flowers to appear...



Cheers
Dave

[James M]

Thanks Dave. I thought I might ask another question, does anyone know which colour/variety of Buddleja davidii is the most attractive to butterflies?