Butterfly bush

Did my butterfly bush not come back because of bad weather last winter? It was a new planting.
I live in Staten Island, New York thanks! Carol

That is possible. Buddleja davidii and several relatives lose their leaves in the winter, then grow new ones in the spring.
Most plants are just a bit more sensitive their first winter. If you can get it through its first winter it ought to grow fine.

Just to be clear: Has it had zero leaves on it for a year and a half? When you say 'last winter' are you talking about the winter of 2013-2014?

Alternate: If it had leaves in the summer of 2014, and lost them in the fall, then it is simply still dormant, and should sprout out when the weather gets better.

I agree with all the info Diana has mentioned. Young plants are very tender no matter the type, and when you take into account the plant I assume was growing in a pot before you got it, then was removed and placed outdoors in a new environment, AND had to get through winter unprotected, no wonder we sometimes loose the odd one.
I personally would wait till later into spring, Butterfly shrubs are normally undistructable and normally adapt quickly to most environments. It is true what Diana has spoken about regarding when the plant lost leaf, have you mulched it to give it any winter protection fro cold, have you been watering up till end of summer, have you planted it in a bright sunny area, did you offer any humus to the soil at planting time, did you prune the new shrub, all these things need to be given to ANY new plant to help them adapt to your area/situation,
Don't give up just yet, allow a few months to see if any new little leaf buds start to show around April/May before thinking you need to perhaps dig up and closely examine the roots etc as the frost(if any) has been dried or de had. these plants are normally tough as old boots, I would give it lots of TLC come Feb/March and just water and keep a close eye on it BUT, don't kill it with kindness, as said, they are tough plants normally.
Hope this helps you out a little.

Indestructible
Kindest Regards.
WeeNel.

I'm hoping ILC will return and let us know if the questions is about last summer, as it is winter now.

Me Too , I am hoping that the new little plant is just dormant and in it's winter resting period BUT we will have to be patient and wait for carol; to get back in touch,
Take good care, Best Regards.
WeeNel.

Hey ILC,everything have read about Butterfly Bush is that it needs loose well drained acid soil - the opposite of what I have here in Brooklyn - alkaline clay. I wonder what kind of soil you have.

Meanwhile I am trying to do my bit for the Monarchs by planting a milkweed in the tree pit. Milkweed won't care much about litter and dog urine, there is one in the tree pit up my block.

It is April now, I hope you are able to give us an update soon.
Good Luck,
Heather

Butterfly bushes grow very well here and are everywhere and the soil here is very alkaline. I think we have lost her.....

Butterfly bushes are hit or miss when it comes to a really harsh winter. Tons of them were lost by spring of '14 and now, once again, we will find more lost in the NE. Even large established plants have been lost.

Yes, both of my large Butterfly Bushes died. They were 5 years old. I had them removed when the fella cut down some trees for us.

Lost both my butterfly bushes in the winter of 2013-14. They were well established bushes that I had had for years. I chose to replace the one with a peony and the other I did not replace. With the winter we just had - 2014-15, I am glad I did not replace the BB.

Thanks for the soil note, Num 1. is your soil clay? sorry we lost Cannas, she is so close to me I was quite interested in comparing notes.

Carolyn, sorry you lost your Butterfly Bushes, I was thinking of adding one to the tree pit in a year or two.
Heather

Here in UK, the Butterfly Bush does not care about the type of soil, travel along any area where there are derelict buildings and you find BUDDLEJA will grow in damaged wood window frames, between bricks, hanging from roof tiles etc, the ones here reseed everywhere.

My only help would be to keep them in a pot for a year or two and bring inside for their first couple of winters putting outside in warmer sunny winter days for a few hours till spring time when you feel they are used to there new environment more slowly. End of summer when the garden plants all go to winter rest, put a good mulch over the root areas as these are shallow rooted plants.

Hope this helps a little.
Best Regards.
WeeNel.

I live in western NY Zone 6A and mine occasionally won't leaf out until late May - that happened in spring of 2014 after an average winter. I'd been checking it daily and was ready to remove and replace it when I saw leaves. Here they are deciduous and we prune them back to 12" in spring. Think mine is Royalty similar to Miss Molly and I love it as do the butterflies and hummingbirds.

Another way to support monarchs is to plant the variety of milkweed that is happiest in your area. Most butterfly bushes are just a lunch stop, but for monarchs milkweed is a lunch stop with a nursery and a changing table, as monarchs need milkweed to feed their caterpillars.

The plant is a little on the homely side but the flowers are gorgeous!

I planted one in a tree pit near me, with information for the curious.
Heather Y

Yes, Milkweed is totally necessary for the Monarch.

Update on the Milkweed.

Someone stole it, or just dug it up for spite and pitched it. I'll never know.

I bought it, waited for it, planted it, watered it, made an informative sign for it,
talked to block kids and a teacher at the Elementary school at the end of the block. My Neighbor gave a little fence to mark it out from the other plants.

One day it was gone. As is my community spirit. I am now talking with my neighbors
about getting a security camera.

Since they also ripped my sign out of the earth and left it there maybe I will NOT post
a "PLANT THIEVES BEWARE" warning about the itching powder I intend to spread
all over my front yard.

When gardening winds down I will go to joke shops and try to find some itching powder
or perhaps some really hot powdered pepper to spread on my flowers and the neighbors'
hydrangeas next year.

Sorry to be so negative here on DG, where I turn to for cheer and interest, but that is the truth of it.

HeatherY

Update on the Milkweed.

Someone stole it, or just dug it up for spite and pitched it. I'll never know.

I bought it, waited for it, planted it, watered it, made an informative sign for it,
talked to block kids and a teacher at the Elementary school at the end of the block. My Neighbor gave a little fence to mark it out from the other plants.

One day it was gone. As is my community spirit. I am now talking with my neighbors
about getting a security camera.

Since they also ripped my sign out of the earth and left it there maybe I will NOT post
a "PLANT THIEVES BEWARE" warning about the itching powder I intend to spread
all over my front yard.

When gardening winds down I will go to joke shops and try to find some itching powder
or perhaps some really hot powdered pepper to spread on my flowers and the neighbors'
hydrangeas next year.

Sorry to be so negative here on DG, where I turn to for cheer and interest, but that is the truth of it.

HeatherY

Wow, that's a new one. It's hard not to be discouraged but people can be ignorant.

Phooey on them. I detest plant thieves. :(

Plant poison ivy, next time.

lol

This obviously isn't your issue, or at least don't think it is, but a few months ago I had some perennials disappear. They were in pots as I hadn't dug enough room in my perennial bed. I'm sure a squirrel was the culprit but it was so unusual that for it not to leave any evidence behind. Not a leaf nor a root. Just took the whole plant minus the pot. Happened 2 days in a row.

Squirrels are not my friends.

Plant thieves are a breed that is world wide, believe me, they have absolutely no concept of how their thieving ways cause so much upset, in some cases, their destructive attitude, lack of thoughts, and sneaky ways are just beyond what you would expect from anyone who really cares about plants, the expense and the love people have for their gardens, just to have someone turn up knowing your not home or your asleep, and steel your plants regardless of them being in pots / tubs, paper bags or whatever, the thieves know the plants are NOT for the purpose of removing them yet they do it anyway.

I remember when we moved to our place, it was an old estate garden, we found / traced picture of the old place before it was left derelict and we bought it, Anyway cut a long story short, while we were having building work put through planning, clearing away all the debris etc, I set about the garden, parts of which nature had taken over, spent months and seasons finding paths,. Time now to replace Rhododendrons, Box hedges, Tulip tree's, Liquid Amber, Acers and many other shrubs etc.

I arrived up to the site, one morning as usual to find, MOST of the plants had been dug up, all had the names, PRICE TAG, and info for care of the plants, tree stakes, pots, even my wheel barrow were gone. the police said it must have been a large vehicle, probably someone local who perhaps used the area for years while it was derelict, maybe to walk dogs etc, anyway. they were never found, I was so devastated, it put me off returning to gardening for a whole year, I did the must do stuff but, planning the garden, searching the correct plants etc, too me a long, while to accept I was living close to ANYONE who could do such a thing, I live very rural so no neighbours noticed anything.
It HURTS, BUT, most people I know who have reported plants that were STOLEN BY HUMANS,
Have all recovered, got back to their love of gardening and really put it down to human nature that has gone wrong somewhere,
At one point I was upset at the hundreds of UK pounds I had spent, done without things to cover that cost, but then I realised there was more than financial cost, it was time, research, love, phonecalls etc, (NO computers in those days LOL.
These people should be sent to a garden and work for free, for a long period of time to give them or teach them some respect for garden owners,

Heather I hope this helps you get back to planting and growing stuff without any further stolen plants being the norm. just try to be vigilant and remember, everyone is NOT horrid and crewel like plant thieves.

Kindest regards.
WeeNel.

Plant thieves are a breed that is world wide, believe me, they have absolutely no concept of how their thieving ways cause so much upset, in some cases, their destructive attitude, lack of thoughts, and sneaky ways are just beyond what you would expect from anyone who really cares about plants, the expense and the love people have for their gardens, just to have someone turn up knowing your not home or your asleep, and steel your plants regardless of them being in pots / tubs, paper bags or whatever, the thieves know the plants are NOT for the purpose of removing them yet they do it anyway.

I remember when we moved to our place, it was an old estate garden, we found / traced picture of the old place before it was left derelict and we bought it, Anyway cut a long story short, while we were having building work put through planning, clearing away all the debris etc, I set about the garden, parts of which nature had taken over, spent months and seasons finding paths,. Time now to replace Rhododendrons, Box hedges, Tulip tree's, Liquid Amber, Acers and many other shrubs etc.

I arrived up to the site, one morning as usual to find, MOST of the plants had been dug up, all had the names, PRICE TAG, and info for care of the plants, tree stakes, pots, even my wheel barrow were gone. the police said it must have been a large vehicle, probably someone local who perhaps used the area for years while it was derelict, maybe to walk dogs etc, anyway. they were never found, I was so devastated, it put me off returning to gardening for a whole year, I did the must do stuff but, planning the garden, searching the correct plants etc, too me a long, while to accept I was living close to ANYONE who could do such a thing, I live very rural so no neighbours noticed anything.
It HURTS, BUT, most people I know who have reported plants that were STOLEN BY HUMANS,
Have all recovered, got back to their love of gardening and really put it down to human nature that has gone wrong somewhere,
At one point I was upset at the hundreds of UK pounds I had spent, done without things to cover that cost, but then I realised there was more than financial cost, it was time, research, love, phonecalls etc, (NO computers in those days LOL.
These people should be sent to a garden and work for free, for a long period of time to give them or teach them some respect for garden owners,

Heather I hope this helps you get back to planting and growing stuff without any further stolen plants being the norm. just try to be vigilant and remember, everyone is NOT horrid and crewel like plant thieves.

Kindest regards.
WeeNel.

My young butterfly bushes were doing very well until we had 29 inches of rain and continued high 90s heat in July. Now they barely have a leaf on them. We have good drainage so I'm not sure what happened to them. I live in zone 9. I think they are supposed to do well here.

I have one davedii in its pot (I only do containers), and a lindleyana ordered from Annie's - coming in four days. We're expecting El Nino in my zone, and I'm trying to figure out how to get everybody undercover. This is easier, maybe, with containers, if you can physically move them. Some plants will just have to deal.

I had what I call the Great Pot Theft about 10 years ago. Everything except some really heavy Mexican clay pots was gone, including a set of handpainted, one-of-a-kind glazed containers I brought back from Italy. The heart went out of me, and I'm just now getting back into it with the kind of enthusiasm and engagement that makes it all such a pleasure. If anyone even looks like breaking off a piece of one of my plants they will meet my weapons of choice - a ship's horn canister and a can of Raid. Sounds harsh, but I consider that "I'll just break off a piece and root it for myself' to be an act of theft of my intellectual effort, my financial investment, and my labor. oops, told ya how I really feel, didn't I?

Good luck with the butterfly bush - I love them when they're blooming all over the place. Syb

I agree, Sybil. If people ask, I'm usually happy to share with them as long as it doesn't damage the plant. But if they take something without asking, that's plain old stealing.

Thank you, Cville, for your support. Just because its in plain sight doesn't mean its up for grabs. My car is usually in plain sight, too, but its not for the taking. Syb

Exactly.

I'm sorry to hear about the pot theft. Ugh! We started out married life in Huntington Beach about 40 years ago. My DH's parents lived a block from the beach. He used to let people park their cars there for the big Fourth of July fireworks show at the beach. He charged $1 a car. Wonder what folks would charge now. :)

My DH and I spent 3 weeks in Huntington Beach 4 years ago, rented a lovely little cottage just a few streets from the beach.
We got so fed up with parking restrictions we hired cycles and peddled around the beach walks, side streets, cafe's etc and met more wonderful people that way than we ever would have IF we went everywhere by car.
One of my fondest memory was walking to the end of the pier and having one of the best burgers ever, the place was a replica of the old "Happy Days" ice-cream parlour, fab experience. we then drove further along the coast and took a 4 car ferry over the river and we stayed there another week.
A trip to remember as we met up with relations we had never met before and still managed to visit garden centres, do our own thing and as it was St Patrick's day while there we toured the whole area on an old LONDON UK bus throwing gifts out to the viewers who cheered all on the bus, dressed to kill for the occasion. My relatives hire the bus every St Patrick's day, we were very spoiled on the trip and one day will return I hope.

Sorry way off subject, just wated to share when Huntington Beach was mentioned LOL.
Kindest Regards
WeeNel.

My DH and I spent 3 weeks in Huntington Beach 4 years ago, rented a lovely little cottage just a few streets from the beach.
We got so fed up with parking restrictions we hired cycles and peddled around the beach walks, side streets, cafe's etc and met more wonderful people that way than we ever would have IF we went everywhere by car.
One of my fondest memory was walking to the end of the pier and having one of the best burgers ever, the place was a replica of the old "Happy Days" ice-cream parlour, fab experience. we then drove further along the coast and took a 4 car ferry over the river and we stayed there another week.
A trip to remember as we met up with relations we had never met before and still managed to visit garden centres, do our own thing and as it was St Patrick's day while there we toured the whole area on an old LONDON UK bus throwing gifts out to the viewers who cheered all on the bus, dressed to kill for the occasion. My relatives hire the bus every St Patrick's day, we were very spoiled on the trip and one day will return I hope.

Sorry way off subject, just wated to share when Huntington Beach was mentioned LOL.
Kindest Regards
WeeNel.

$1.00 to park at the beach in Surf City USA???? I think now you can buy a beach parking pass in advance, on line. Its a lot more than a dollar. I live two miles from the beach to the west, and about four miles from the beach to the south, so have no parking probs and ocean breezes (not to mention the current cold gale-force winds). I understand that we live here because of the weather - am waiting for that particular weather to return. Syb HUH... what was the final outcome with the butterfly bush?

That was on private property in 1968. lol.

Cville remembers the 60's ... huh. Well so do I... there were those children and that bear in the closet. Syb