Hoe can you kill off Buddleia?

Question

I have 5 Buddleia shrubs in my garden and there are 7 in my neighbours. I have dug all of mine out as they were dominating the garden. The only problem is the root system is so vast I feel the only way to get rid of it permenantly would be to dig out the root systems! Does anyone have an easier solution?

Answer 1

With a how

(snigger)

Answer 2

Digging the root system out will be the best solution, however if they continue to sprout up, split the stem/sprout and leave it.  It tends to become infected and will spread to the rest of the system.

Answer 3

Well, I've killed my buddleia without even trying so I wish I had just one of your five.  I inherited my garden with a buddleia in it that looked like it hadn't been pruned for about 30 years (no joke).  Last year I decided to give a real good chop and lo and behold, one dead buddleia.  I now just have a stump with nothing happening at all. Once you've given your buddleia a good chop I would just leave it and see what happens next year.  If it doesn't come back - great, no further action required!  If it does you will need to take more drastic action such as the suggestions already made.

Answer 4

But why do you want to kill it off?  I know it's not the loveliest of plants but it really attracts butterflies (which, like everything else, are disappearing more and more year by year).  Last summer's weather was disastrous for butterflies, and one way of helping them is to plant buddleia, not to cut it right down.

Answer 5

What your saying is, you've dug up the shrubs, but they are shooting again from their root system?

If it's not going to kill other plants, give the new growth a dose of Round Up or even Sodium Chloride weedkiller. If it is use a leaf spray like Weedol and kill it as it comes up. The roots will die eventually.

I've got two and they are different colours, but I didn't plant either, so obviously they can self seed. Your neighbours have seven you had five, so you can expect them to reappear as weeds on a perennial basis.

Answer 6

Yes. Easy peasy. Drill a hole. Insert 'Deep Root'. Dead Buddlia. Deep Root is Ammonium Sulphate available from all DIY stoes. It is safe as it changes to a fertiliser in contact with the soil. Clever stuff.