Hi again . Got 2 very overgrown but nice Budlia (spell check) that have nearly finished flowering . Can we cut them back now or do we have to wait until later in year . We are doing alot of work in this garden which is very overgrown and if these were cut back it would help access other parts of the flower beds for work. Father in law says we can back to 1 metere in height , is this correct.
Generally I cut mine back in spring after I see the new shoots. They can be cut down to nearly ground level then. It stops them getting leggy. That is as long as we are talking about the blue or purple buddleia
I normally cut mine back in September by about half to tidy it up, then prune hard in late winter/early spring.
One is purple and the other white . Does the colour make a difference to how and when you prune them ?
Some time ago, on TV, the City Gardiner said that the two most difficult plants to kill were the bramble and Buddleja.
I have started to prune back as Lavender suggested . I can now see the main plant 'trunks' . When I fully prune in Spring how far down the 'trunks' do I go ? They are very thick just like a tree and I dont want to damage these plants as they as fantastic when in bloom with the butterflies all over them. Sorry for not posting for a while , but I finally got a job . I now work as a Yardman at a Landscape garden contractor so plenty of cheap/free stuff . I have so far recyclced some round posts from the bonfire pile into border edging , it was only rotted where it had been in the ground . Saved me a few quid and hopefully a tree from being feld.
I think you can go back as far as you want NN. I have an old purple one and a new white one. The purple one got very woody over the years so I decided to dispose of it and cut it back to ground level and paint with a strong systemic weedkiller. But it simply put out new growth, which is far nicer for my purposes. If you want it big then leave plenty of the thicker branches in spring. As PeterS says above 'They are difficult to kill'.
Buddleias are certainly determined plants, just look at the way they flourish on wasteland .... senior citizens will recall how quickly they invaded bomb-sites even in the middle of our cities. I am sure it will do no harm to cut back at this time of the year, but it is probably easier to prune in Spring to form a well-shaped bush.
