OK to prune Buddleia now?

13 years ago

Hi all,

My butterfly bush grew HUGE this summer... it is practically consuming the house! Normally I prune it in the spring, but I'm afraid this winter snow might cause the branches to break off because it is so big and already bending over. Would it be okay to prune it back a little now while it is actively flowering? Or should I wait until the fall? I just plan to take a couple of feet of height off of it to make it sturdier for winter. What do you guys think? Thanks! :-)

Firefly

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Comments (6)

dottie_in_charlotte
13 years ago
I think go for it (if you don't mind advice from a CT res. transplanted to NC).
You still have enough time for new growth (stimulated by pruning) to harden off before October frosts.
bill_ri_z6b
13 years ago
I prune mine every year as soon as the flowers start to fade and it comes back with strong shoots that harden off before the winter cold. It blooms very well the following season. I just cut mine back about two weeks ago here.
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firefly1013
Original Author
13 years ago
Great! I will prune them back tomorrow then. Thank so much! :-)
kathyannd
13 years ago
Ditto - mine are enormous and I also prune as soon as they finish flowering to shape them and keep them from totally overtaking everything. Ours are about to be trimmed - we're a little behind Bill in RI as we are a couple of hours farther north. We'll probably do it on the weekend.
arbo_retum
13 years ago
that's so interesting. i didn't know you could do it now; i have alw read late winter. th so much
mindy
bill_ri_z6b
13 years ago
Follow up: The buddleia that I cut back about three weeks ago is in bud again. Some color showed up today. I'd say about 30% of the new shoots are in bud. Not bad for such a short time with this dry summer!