My butterfly bush can reach 12' high & 6' wide,do I shape it or let it grow wild?How do I shape it?

Question

I have a yellow butterfly bush,it's already probably 6' tall & 5' wide.It's monstrous dwafing the purple one next to it.Should I try to shape it,trim it down or let it grow.I live in SC & it's July.Please advise me if ya'll can.Thanks,Loretta

Answer 1

trim it this fall- trim the older stuff off and leave the new growth- in the spring shape it the way you want it to grow- it will thicken up and won't die off if you do it this way- but it will continue growing- so each year will be another trimming expedition

Answer 2

I assume it is Buddleia Davidii, I've never seen a yellow one!

I would leave it until after it has flowered, then cut it back really harshly in about February.  Cut each long stem back to about 3 inches.  Be harsh, a bit like cutting a shrub rose, it can take it!

If you cut it now you will lose the lovely flowers and it will try to grow back in the warmth but then be caught by the frost before it matures, so you won't be doing it any favours.  Also, the old stems are a good winter hibernating place for friendly bugs like ladybirds, so you will be doing your garden biodiversity a favour.

Answer 3

It's recommended that you cut back the bush each year in winter - in cold climates cut back around November. How close you cut it depends on where you are. If you have a lot of heavy snow it's better to trim back to around 3 foot or so and mulch. If your snow if light then even a foot is okay. It will grow back the next season, and it helps keep it under control. If you don't do this, then at least prune well each year and remove the old woody branches. In warm climates you may cut it back after blooming to encourage a second bloom. Deadheading the blooms can also extend the bloom time, so it's worth the effort.

Answer 4

Yellow Butterfly Bushes are awesome! They also tend to naturally be a bit bigger than the purple varieties. In my experience, the yellow varieties and the pink varieties are larger than the purple ones. Like mentioned above....do not prune it now or you will cut off all your blooms....as it begins to bloom and you start to see blooms that are done and not looking pretty anymore....cut them off. This promotes new blooms to form and you can keep your bush blooming for a longer period of time. (Only trim off the spent blooms and this is true for all butterfly bush) Next year, in early spring to help keep it a bit smaller, ( it will still eventually grow back it's same height and be larger than the pruple varietes however) cut it back very very hard, you can cut it almost down to the gound. You don't have to cut it back that far if you don't feel comfortable doing so, but they are bushes that will tolerate it if needed or desired. Enjoy your butterflies....you're gonna have loads of em!!!

Answer 5

I say you could trim to shape it throughout the year.  Butterfly bush grows so fast it will quickly replace what you cut off during the growing season.  So shape it by snipping the terminal tips off the longest branches to wherever you want.  The side shoots will immediately put on more growth and you got a lot of growing season left.  Just prune to keep compact and remove dead flowers, it will keep blooming.

Save the drastic pruning for spring.  I have not had great results pruning this plant hard in Michigan unless I let it stand through the winter.  If it gets through our winter, it can be cut virtually to the ground and will grow all the way back in no time.

My rule of thumb for most woody plants is that when it grows a foot, you cut it back 6".  Don't ever be afraid to cut back new growth in half.  Small, more frequent prunings seems to work better for me.  But work with the natural shape of the plant and forego trying to hack tall plants into short ones or wide ones at the same spot year after year to keep them narrow.