I tackled a fairly easy job yesterday, but one that some years I don't get around to...pruning back my six butterfly bushes. Last year was one of those never-got-around-to-it years, and those bushes had grown to about 10' tall I'd say. Now, they are back to their more respectable 2' stumps.
The first year I followed the pruning directions for butterfly bushes and pruned them back to their first sign of growth, no matter how low on the branch, I was sure I was going to kill them. There was no way that ugly stump could grow enough in time to produce the bountiful elongated blooms that the books promised. I was wrong. They had no trouble at all. And the biggest benefit of all was that their rapid flush of growth produced more branches at eye level on which the blooms are produced. Last year the blooms were sparse and were mainly located only at the tippy top.
This year I needed to use loppers on them as the branches have become too thick for simple pruning shears, and the stack of branches removed will make the beginnings of a great burn pile after the goats have had their initial fill of leaves.
Pruning seems to be one of those tasks I tend to neglect and then pay the price later in the season. So therefore a goal for this year is to keep up with the pruning jobs that need done. Today's job...getting those branches hauled away to clear the view. I want to be able to watch those bushes grow!
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