Lori Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 I had a gardener stop by yesterday to discuss possible gardening work. While touring the garden, he told me I should have pruned my butterfly bushes. I had no idea you were supposed to prune them. They are now 4 years old and are about 3 meters tall. Is it too late to prune them? How often and when do you prune them??Also, he told me that when the previous gardener pruned our large muriers, he should have put a product on the cut portion of the branches to stop bug or disease infestation. Is this true? These are huge trees, with many many branches that were pruned two years ago. They have come back like gang busters and look very happy. Is it necessary to put the product on the cut ends now or is he trying to add a bunch of hours to his devis?? Thanks for any help offered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 I have three of those and I prune them in very early spring, as they flower in summer on wood grown in the current year, unlike the forsythia, which needs to be pruned immediately after flowering to allow more growth for the following year's flowers.see here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted March 10, 2007 Author Share Posted March 10, 2007 Clearly I am "garden brain dead." I'm supposed to prune the forsythias too !! You prune those every year too ! How do they ever get big then? Sorry for the dumb questions. I've seen some very large butterfly bushes and forsythias. If you cut them back every year, how do they get so big? or perhaps those I've seen have not been pruned.Thanks for that link Clair. Guess I'd better, either hire the gardener, or study up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 I guess as they establish they produce more branches from the base and you cut those back, which encourages more etc. You can be fairly 'hard' with butterfly bushes - they love it !PS I prune mine twice, once lightly in the autumn to stop 'wind rock' then in the spring to encourage new growth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 [quote user="Lori"]Guess I'd better, either hire the gardener, or study up. [/quote]Best to study up to be able to check on what the gardener is doing![:P] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted March 10, 2007 Author Share Posted March 10, 2007 No kidding. Now, I await the response about whether I should put some special product on the cut branches of our very large trees. Since they were pruned two years ago, it seems to late to put anything on the cut parts. However, yesterday, this different gardener said it should still be done. Considering how big the trees are, that would take hours and hours - still has me thinking money money money (that I don't have). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avinalarf Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 I think your gardener is right but it's up to you if you wish to pay for it or take the risk of the tree becoming diseased - as it's come back healthily I would personally not bother. Buddleias most definitely should be pruned - maximises flower growth and minimises their ugly straggliness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 Lori, Pruning butterfly bushes is very easy - they are very forgiving, you could start by cutting them back to about 18in or to the first bit you can get your pruners through. A reasonable pair of loppers or long handled more heavy duty pruners could be a good investment - they are not wildley expensive I think I paid about £16 for a pair that have saved me a fortune !http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A668072 - you need to scroll downhttp://www.gardenseeker.com/pruning/pruning_buddleja_buddleia.htm good pictures !Enjoy - I love pruning [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted March 10, 2007 Author Share Posted March 10, 2007 Thanks everyone. Yes, Gay, I do have a good pair of small and large pruning shears (is that what you call them). Once this infernal wind stops, I will prune them. That is if the wind doesn't uproot everything before I get to it... Hellacious today. The gardener said it was okay to prune the butterfly bushes now.I'll remember to prune the forsythias once they have finished flowering. If I read the links correctly, you don't prune the forsythias until just after they have flowered. I would take that to mean that now is not the time. .. ?? ..I think I will take my chances with the large pruned trees. They were pruned two years ago and they have come back so beautifully. To try to coat each cut branch with something would take a LONG time. I don't think I could afford it. But, it is good to know for the future.Considering I have done 3 hours of strimming this week, I think the season has started - the cutting season that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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