Hey guys, I have two newly planted Buddleia davidii (Black Knight) blooming profusely right now. I have, however noticed a few yellowing leaves near the base, and the blooms see less rich and vigorous than earlier in the season.
I have been deadheading relatively consistantly. Can anyone give me a few tips and tricks for keeping these guys healthy?
Nick....Lucky you you get them to grow.....I just can not get those to grow in my garden...they look good one year and die the next.....I think your ok with the yellowing leaves at the bottom of the plant. Just snip em off....
Deann
i have some-do you think it is lack of water?? im watering over here cuz we are as dry as a "popcorn fart".
i have lost several over the yrs due to winter kill-but they are easy to start from seeds!
good luck!
Ours are doing well this year.
Try some balanced fertilizer like Peters 20-20-20.
I agree with Dori pour the water to them/
Paul
Thanks guys, I heard to NOT overwater them.
Also, what about pruning come fall and winter. What should I do?
I have those bushes and no matter what I do they grow like crazy. Mine love water. In this drought I've given them a drink daily. The yellow leaves are harmless, just natural with mine. I cut mine back to about a foot each spring and by July they've grown right back to as tall as they were if not taller.These bushes are rather rugged and tough. The less I fret over them the better they grow.
Good luck with yours.
Anne
i dont cut them back till early spring but they can be cut back(or not)in the fall, I just dont have the time and like to see the snow and ice bushes during the winter! ahhhhhhhhhh the "W" word ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
If it snows tonight I am driving over there to personally throw snowballs at your house! :-P
Thanks again guys. I will just let them be and water them every now and then. I just wish my blooms were a little darker. Maybe next year.
This message was edited Jul 15, 2005 4:23 PM
I wonder if your bushes were tagged wrong. I get that a lot and it drives me crazy.
Donna
Gosh Donna, I hope not.
The leaves look alot like B.Knight, and some of the blooms were nice and dark. I bought it from my favorite nursery, so I have faith. That does drive me crazy too.
Nick
Here is what my Black Knight looked like last year. It did not make it through the winter, and it was a smalll bush. I have bought several plants from lowes this year that were misstagged.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/birdlegs2/woodpecker016.jpg
That is a beautiful picture, Sandy.
I bought mine from Alwoods here in Mt. Pleasant. I also bought a Doublefile Viburnum and a few spirea. They always have great plants and a super knowledgeable staff. The bushes now are about 3' wide and 3' tall.
Are they normally suspetible to winter kill? Mine are up against the house with a Western exposure.
Nick
Nick,
If you mulch them heavily for the winter, it will help. I never cut mine down until spring. I like the look of the twigs in winter. Mine are right out in the open, all by themselves in an oval bed.
Don't give up on them too quickly in the spring. I have yanked them thinking that they were dead just to have them start sprouting while they were in the garbage can waiting for yard waste pick up! I made my bed larger and put them back in (after at least a week), and they have done the best.
Donna
Will do Donna! I like the branches too.. I will leave them all winter and be patient next spring. :)
I have 6 bushes in various colors and in differant places on the property and they all get the same treatment. I cut them back to about 6-8" in fall unless I get lazy, then it's spring. I feed them when I remember (it's an age thing). Ha! Around the end of the second week of June I am convinced they are ALL gonners but before I get around to pulling them up they are 2-3 feet tall. Thank God I'm also a procrastinator! I've had some for approx. 9 years and the rest for 7 and they look beautiful every year. They get watered the same time I water the flowers (nothing special). The color could have something to do with the condition of the soil in that spot. Hang in there..... they seem to be stronger than you. hahahaha happy gardening!
Thanks, Jacklynn.. They are looking healthy now. I did some pruning and deadheading last week, and they have had a flush of growth with the rains we got recently.
Thanks again,
Nick
Take a look at mine from mid August. they are behind lavender so we don't water them alot. They are as tall as the house. We had them cut back in early spring. More photo's at Webshots http://community.webshots.com/user/tnorton2100
Wetlands & Garden 1 album. (Some nice butterfly photo's)
Gary
This message was edited Aug 23, 2005 11:43 PM
The thing that amazes me is how I start to recognize the butterflies. I don't mean species, I mean individuals. One has a slight tear in her wing, one has a certain coloration. Really amazing to me.
:)
Nick
am the last person to post on this thread since i am 5 years new to MI gardening, BUT....
i have a buddlia in the mulched bed off the front porch. it was planted (i assume) by the site landscapers about 2000. i throw a small handfull of 10-10-10 on it and water it in about may 1st. then i pinch it back until mid-july. otherwise it takes over my office window and the whole dang front porch. since the lawn system doesn't reach it in the back of the bed there, i deep water it with a trickle hose about once a month during the summer. it blooms starting in august, just in time for the monarchs. the monarch 'airport' is in progress as i write this. WOW. all the kids come sit on the porch and talk to em.
once in a blue moon a hummer shows up, brave soul.
i prune it all back to about 8-12" in the late fall. and make sure the salted porch snow doesn't get loaded there over winter. that's it.
does this help?
My buddlea's are doing great this year, this is their second year (2005) since birth, that sounds funny :-). I didn't know what to do with them in the fall of their first year so I left them and in the spring I cut them back to about 6", I was worried about them but they took off and got approximately 5' tall. I planted some baby purple ones this year, anxious to see what they do next year. The fun of growing any plants is to watch the change in them every year. Next summer I should have a whole lot of new ones coming up if they survive the winter, I am excited to see them. Here is a pic of my island garden which I have posted on another thread but you can see how tall they are compared to my asters. They are the yellow ones on the right of the pic.
