Buddleia bushes near house - root spread?

I have three young Buddleia bushes within a couple of feet of the west wall of my house - they are well looked after, dead headed as soon as the flowers die off, cut back hard in winter, etc. However, I'm only now wondering if their roots could cause any problems with the foundations or very lowermost part of the house wall. Is this likely?

 

Not the most threatening but I would move them anyway. You can take cuttings now for replacements
I have seen buddleias germinate and grow in house walls by the way.

 

Thanks. I was hoping that they would be okay where they are.

When is the best time to move them? Winter I guess?

 

October would be good

 

Noted, thanks.

I've no idea how far the roots spread out but how far around (and down) would I need to dig to ensure that they survive the transplant? As already noted, they are quite young (a couple of years old) so I guess their root systems won't be huge.

 

Should be easy enough
(If mine I would do it now but I am impatient and prob not the safest time......usually get away with it though with plenty of water and cutting back)

 

Roots will only cause problems if:

- it is an old house (without concrete foundations);
- the house is sitting on clay soil (in this case it doesn't matter if the house is on concrete foundations or not).

The logic being - the roots will hit the foundations - and divert away from the house if concrete - if this happens and you on clay soil - the roots will suck up the moisture in the clay and cause the land to heave, which in turn may disturb the foundations.

If you don't have any foundations as such - you can guess the rest.

There's no chance at all that Buddleia will be a problem - they're simply not large enough .

 

Thanks. The soil around my property is moderately clay-like I'm afraid.

However, we do get a lot of rain! And dampness.

As for the foundations, it's an old farmhouse (well, farm-building to be exact - it's a bungalow. No idea why I call it a house, force of habit I guess). The walls are pretty thick so the foundations are presumably pretty solid. No idea how old it is, 50 years or so I guess, but I haven't a clue about the foundations.

You say that: "There's no chance at all that Buddleia will be a problem"

but does that also apply bearing in mind my aforementioned circumstances?

 

I would move them. If the roots do decide to grow towards the house you run the risk of them penetrating and cracking mortar in particular. Like @Verdun I have seen quite a few specimens which have germinated above ground, on poorly-maintained buildings - say within in a blocked gutter, or on crumbling brickwork - and in those circumstances the roots quickly start making a bad situation worse. It's a problem for the UK railway network too: Buddleia: The plant that dominates Britain's railways - BBC News

 

Thanks. I guess I'll wait until they've finished flowering then move them (or wait until October). I guess their roots aren't going to grow a huge amount in the next two months.

Out of interest, if I can't dig deep or wide enough to remove all of the roots will any remaining underground roots just die off, or at least not present a problem to the building or foundations?

 

When you see reports on the TV about subsidence - they're talking about mature trees.

A mortgage surveyor may investigate any issues with close by mature trees - not shrubs like Buddleia.

If it was me, I'd leave them, keep them trimmed and enjoy the display .

However, if it's going to 'play on your mind' - which it looks like it will - because you've asked for some feedback on this forum - then my advice is get rid of them.

 

If you take out the root ball and chop back any remaining roots as far as possible you should be OK, I think. Thats what I did when I took one out of the bank at the end of the garden and it didn't regenerate.

 

Again is comes back to mature trees - if you kill off a mature tree - close to a property - the roots will shrink and create a void - this won't happen with the Buddleia - it's all down to how large/intrusive the plant is.

 

Thanks again for the advice clanless, Clare G and Verdun. I think I may end up moving them in a month or two just to be on the safe side.

As an aside, how are Anemones regarding their roots? I have a spreading "nest" of them in the same area as the Buddleias, therefore a couple of feet from the west wall of the building. They must have been there for at least 20 years and are of course self-seeding. I guess their roots aren't a problem to the building?

 

I dont think for one moment a buddleia will lift any foundations, etc. But the point is not to plant any potentially large shrub or tree near a building.
Perennials are fine as are small shrubs.
Besides, shrubs and trees grow far better given their due space