Butterfly Bush.

hello, i bought one from woolworths a while back and planted it in an old coal bucket.it only had a couple of buds then but since bad weather is down to just one right at fork.should i have kept it inside until warmer weather?sorry i cant remember specific name.thanks in advance,Elaine. :(

 

Do you mean Buddleja? They are normally as tough as old boots, so should have withstood most weather conditions. Unless the roots froze solid, or there are no holes in your bucket and it has got too wet. If you can plant it out then now is a good time to do it.

 

Do you mean a Budlea?

If it is in a bucket has it got a hole in the bottom? They do hate wet.

Mine survive North Yorks frost, but I have lost three which were bought from nurseries. I was going to give up trying but bought this one from car boot and there is no stopping it even in coldest winters.

If you have got one bud you may be OK, mine is only just showing signs of life. Stick it in a sunny sheltered position and check it is not warterlogged.

Varigated leaved ones are less hardy.

 

Some time a go, in the City Gardiner program, we were told that the two toughest plants in the UK were the Bramble (not surprising) and Buddleia ( which at the time did surprise me).

 

They grow like weeds in New Zealand.
tough as old boots here
Buddleja davidii, is the most common sp. with a number of var.
I like the different one like B. Globosa, has small spherical yellow ball shaped flowers.
or B. alternifolia, which is a more delicate looking var.
Better in the ground asap

 

Buddleia or Buddleja are tough colonisers that thrive on poor well drained limey or sandy soils and the wild (garden escapees?) will even grow in the mortar of old walls. They seem to love derelict building sites.

Lots of different forms and colours ranging from the wild lilac through to royal purple, reds, pinks and whites. For something a bit different you can also try the Orange Ball Tree (Buddleja globosa) They are also relatively salt tollerant so great for coastal areas. Absolutely no need to use fertiliser but they do dislike wet feet otherwise they are very hardy and any frosted new growth can be cut back and it will regenerate later in the spring. During winter they can look dead so don't be tempted to give up on them too readily

 

thanks everyone,i`m glad i posted cos i was gonna chuck it today.there are holes drilled but when i thought about it it`s been stood right under leaky guttering so too much water is probably the problem.i`ll take over allotment and plant it out tomorrow!

 

You may well find that the bud caught the frost but the stem is still alive. This has happened to most of my buddleias as we had a hard frost after they'd started into growth. Make sure you put it somewhere with room to grow unless you want to be forever hacking it down!

 

well, i tried to lift it this morning but the stem just snapped off as soon as i touched it.i removed the top soil and scooped the roots with my hand but as i say it just came awy from the roots.the stem is green so i put it in a glass of water on kitchen windowsill.oh dear, i feel like i`ve murdered it. :(

 

My garden is over-run with the stuff at the moment. Last year (when I didn't have the time to tend to the garden) we cut a bit down and just left it on the ground for a few weeks - we now have about 10 huge new bushes!

I have seen a lot of them growing as "weeds" around here as well (weeds used in a loose term of course)!

 

I need to move mine (we took a nasty old concrete wall from round it so the roots are bare but covered with ashfelt!) - is it too late to chop it and move it now?

 

It is a bit late, but if you have to do it, make sure you have a lot of soil around the roots to minimise disturbance to the roots. The recommended way is to have a big sheet of some sort, dig out around the shrub at least half the circumference of the spread of the shrub, roll it on to the sheet, and transport carefully to the new site, plant and water in very well!! Good luck!

 

Hmm, difficult as it's sort of stuck inbetween a garage foundations and a bit of wall! Will do me best though thanks!

 

I would cut it down to about two feet first or just above some living growth.Good luck.

 

I think some of us need to go on a smileyholic rehab course!!