Have I lost my butterfly bushes?

I planted three bushes two years ago. The first year I cut them back, and in the spring they all came back fine. But then I read that you should not cut them back if you want them to grow full, so I left them alone this past winter.

Well, one plant has no growth on the old wood, but is sprouting from the roots and seems to be fine. But the other two show no sign of life at all. Have I lost them? We did have quite an ice storm this year, but I didn't think it would kill these off, certainly not at the root.

I noticed the butterfly bushes at our local city park (which were cut back) are showing no signs of growth, either. Do I just need to be more patient?

P.S. - I should add that my dog has made himself I nice little path between the bushes and the shed where they were planted. Could the impacted earth have killed them off? He hasn't trampled the plants themselves, just the dirt behind them.

No the dog isn't responsible. Be patient and give it more time especially since you've noticed others around town that aren't greening either.

Scratch the bark with your fingernail, down low near the ground. Is it green underneath? Even if it isn't, they could still come back from the roots or crown. They are a warm weather plant, so I agree with Caron, give it some time.

k

Mine regrow from the ground every year whether I cut them back or not. I have never had one regrow on old wood. Right now I have one on the south side sprouting, two on the north side with no signs of life but I am sure they are fine, and one on the west that the squirrels dug up that I think is dead. There is still time, especially depending on your weather and light.

In colder zones they do die back to the ground- I'd give them more time.

Mine are just barely beginning to show new foliage and my zone is somewhat warmer than yours. This also is earlier in the year than they've ever shown new growth; but then we had a much warmer winter here, too. I'd wait at least a few weeks more before being concerned. I read in one source that they are more likely to not make it through the winter if they're cut back in the fall instead of spring. Can anyone lend any credence to this statement?

My gardening magazine, either Fine Gardening or PPPlants said it's best to cut them back in early spring. At the moment neither of mine are showing signs of life. One of them was moved in the fall and didn't look good after the move so I'm not holding my breath but the other had green under the bark when I pruned it last month.

Anyone who needs Buddleia davidii 'Black Knight' needs only ask me in a few months. Every year I'm throwing loads of seedlings away. And those seedlings grow FAST. I dug up one this spring that was barely visible when I transplanted it about 20 months ago and this year had a base as big around as my forearm.

wow, I'd read that they could be invasive but hadn't had any issues with them in the 2 years we've had our 2 so I ordered 3 more, different varieties, this spring. I even tried to germinate some seeds last summer but they didn't do anything. If my Black Knight doesn't come back this year I may take you up on that offer!

You're welcome to all I have!
Michele

I made the mistake of cutting one back in the fall, and sure enough it croked. I wait till I see new growth to cut it back in spring, which I started seeing last week.

Oh dear. I never heard that they were invasive. Do they self seed?

that's what I'd read elsewhere but it hasn't been my experience in the past 3 years and they aren't on the list of invasives for my state.

They do in my garden. I try to deadhead at least weekly, but don't manage to prevent it. But it you have a lawn (I don't) the mowing probably keeps a lot of it in check.

I live in Z5, and grow numerous buddleia. The first three years i had no seeding. Last year there was a tremendous amount of seeding coming from my Pink Delights, but not from any of the others. No clue why this happened with this variety and not the others, but boy, did they seed, we were pulling them out from everywhere, even into the roots of perennials.

Michele
I would love some of your seedlings also,, please let me know when you have some to get rid of..: )
vicki

Vicki,
Can you send me an e-mail just so it's somewhere a little easier to track? Thanks. I'll let you know when they're growing.
Michele