Is it possible to rejuvenate an overgrown butterfly bush?
A butterfly bush can be a beautiful, graceful plant when properly maintained. But when a gardener is too shy to take the pruners to it, the plant can instead grow into a weedy, tangled eyesore.
I think we can all agree that it's the delicate arching branches with their spear-like compound flowers that we're going for when we first stick one of these plants smack in the middle of a perennial border.
Properly maintaining a butterfly bush means pruning it hard each spring, much like you would a hydrangea. Butterfly bushes tend to bud out late, so check your bush frequently for signs of greenery near the base of its branches. When you spot some healthy buds on the threshold of bursting, cut the corresponding branch back until there are just two healthy buds at its base. Repeat the practice on each branch.
It seems drastic and the first time you do it, your heart may jump, but once you see the results of your efforts you'll fearlessly cut that sucker back year after year without giving it a second thought. Why? Because before that first season is through, your butterfly bush will have shot up a good six feet and become the graceful, stately focal point you had always intended.
If you have any questions or comments, please send them to me at vanessa@gardenmuse.ca.
Originally published in the Creston Valley Advance.
