Pruning Butterfly Bushes in Southwestern Ontario
Gardening Reference » Gardening in 2005
by hisgal2 on April 11, 2005 02:02 AM
Hi there! ![[wayey]](im/graemlins/wavey.gif)
Glad you found the forum!! Welcome!![[Smile]](im/smile.gif)
I think it depends on how large you want your bushes to be. We have one that has been around for a while. Its rather large...mostly because of forgot to prune it last year.![[Roll Eyes]](im/rolleyes.gif)
Anyways, I've been told to prune them in the fall because they are going dormant and will be ok. I've also been told you can do it in early spring before it starts for wake up from being dormant. I just got to prune mine last week...and this week it is starting to wake up...so I cut it really close.....so to speak. If you prune them too late, it might not bloom. I'm not sure of the weather conditions up there in Ontario....I'm in Pennsylvania and our temps have been into the 70's for a week now!!!
Sidenote...You don't want your branches to get way too long because they will snap under the weight of snow in the winter. We got a good amount of snow and I'm asumming that you do also, seeing as your north from us.
I'm sure someone else will be around to correct anything that I said wrong.![[Big Grin]](im/biggrin.gif)
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Glad you found the forum!! Welcome!
I think it depends on how large you want your bushes to be. We have one that has been around for a while. Its rather large...mostly because of forgot to prune it last year.
Anyways, I've been told to prune them in the fall because they are going dormant and will be ok. I've also been told you can do it in early spring before it starts for wake up from being dormant. I just got to prune mine last week...and this week it is starting to wake up...so I cut it really close.....so to speak.
If you prune them too late, it might not bloom. I'm not sure of the weather conditions up there in Ontario....I'm in Pennsylvania and our temps have been into the 70's for a week now!!! Sidenote...You don't want your branches to get way too long because they will snap under the weight of snow in the winter. We got a good amount of snow and I'm asumming that you do also, seeing as your north from us.
I'm sure someone else will be around to correct anything that I said wrong.
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by obywan59 on April 11, 2005 08:39 AM
It won't hurt to prune them in the spring, most of the flowering comes from the new wood anyhow. They will still grow to 5 feet or so. Some sources say to cut them to within a foot of the ground yearly to stimulate new growth, but I've seen larger plants that apparently don't receive much pruning that looked very nice.
I generally cut mine way back.
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Terry
May the force be with you
I generally cut mine way back.
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Terry
May the force be with you
by mike57 on April 11, 2005 09:11 AM
HI heres a link i found for you on butterfly bushes you can prune them back just abought anytime of the year.but early spring or late fall is the best time to prune them.
http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/mvv2-94.htm
hope this helps.your friend in gardening.mike57 ![[flower]](im/graemlins/flower.gif)
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No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent.
heres a link i found for you on butterfly bushes you can prune them back just abought anytime of the year.but early spring or late fall is the best time to prune them.http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/mvv2-94.htm
hope this helps.your friend in gardening.mike57
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No One Can Make You Feel Inferior Without Your Consent.
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Last summer my hubby and I started our first garden. We planted 2 butterfly bushes, one of which is a Black Knight variety. I can't remember the other one off hand. When do we prune back the bushes and how far back? We didn't get to put the garden to bed for the winter as we got married in the fall. So we're playing catch up right now.
Thanks for the help!