I have a butterfly bush that has gotten way too big and I want to move it to another area. It’s now about 10 feet tall. Can I do this single-handedly with a shovel? How wide a diameter around the trunk should I dig out the root ball?
Or this is a job for a pro?
It was cute the first two years but now every fall I prune it back to 5 feet and every spring it goes nuts.
If by ‘butterfly bush’, you mean Buddleia, the answer is most probably no. They’re pioneer plants that put down a lot of roots and grow very fast - it’s unlikely you’d be able to remove a large specimen without damaging it severely enough to make the operation pointless.
They’re not expensive plants - and if you look around, you may well find that yours has produced numerous seedlings. I’d plant a new one in the desired location and remove and discard the mature one (this in itself will be quite a serious job, I expect).
The root systems of these plants can grow deep into the ground.
I have (a) relocated one 3 years after initial planting and (b) dug the same plant out for disposal following 7 years in its new position. The first process was much easier than the second. Incidentally, you can be pretty brutal with buddleias when pruning them in the spring. If you do wish to relocate the plant then cut it really hard to 1-2 feet before so doing. It will be much easier to handle.
How long has the bush been in the current location?
As implied in the above post, you can cut them back very hard, so you may be able to prune it into the shape you want. It will thank you–they get leggy and can be mildewy when they’re huge.
I also agree with the idea of buying a new one–they’re a couple of bucks and grow very quickly.
I have a buddleia hedge with three new bushes in it–by spring, you won’t know which were put in this year.
Buddleias do transplant readily and can benefit from drastic pruning. They will also root quite readily. It is a good plant to practice vegetative propagation on.
The only thing better than a butterfly bush is a whoole bunch of 'em.
To clarify:
It was planted 5 years ago.
Every fall I cut it back to 5 feet tall and every spring it gets huge. See photo. The red outline shows a single plant.
It’s not that there’s somewhere else I want it, I just want it gone, so I am not going to buy another one. But I would preserve it in another spot if feasible.
No seedlings are evident.
It looks so much nicer close up.
I would get rid of it.
A circle of radius 2 feet with the plant stem at the centre should work. The actual time for the job will depend on the state of the ground and the soil type. Removing my 7 year buddleia from heavy clay took about 3 hours (6 hours if tea breaks are included). Cut the plant as far down to the ground as you can before starting.
Go for it. Worst case scenario is that it doesn’t survive the move, and then you’re no worse off than if you’d just taken it out.
This is an excellent time of year to move things, because they have enough time to develop new roots before they go dormant for the winter. Just make sure you keep it really well watered after the move. That will definitely improve its chances of survival.
You prune it back to five feet? I prune mine back to more like five inches in the spring, and they doesn’t get nearly as big as yours. If you do dig it up, whether to transplant it or get rid of it, be careful to get all of the roots- if you leave any, it might come back up.
We just had ours cut back dramatically.
Here’s the before (sorry, I can’t figure out how to do a text hyperlink with this new setup):
And the after:
There are only a few flowers left, but they are extremely fragrant…we didn’t get nearly the number of wildlife either. CookingWithGas, did you get a ton of butterflies this year?
Is this one of those plants that you can snip off a piece and drop it in the ground somewhere else and it’ll grow another bush?
Agree. It’s a Buddleia, not a Lady’s Slipper Orchid.
What about cutting it down massively, digging it up in once piece and dividing the root ball, then replanting the two bits elsewhere?
If it works, you have two new plants.
If it doesn’t, you were probably going to get another one anyways.
In your climate (and mine), Buddleia’s practically a noxious weed. Don’t be afraid to test its limits; it won’t have many.
The weird thing is that I’ve got two (the other one is in a location that doesn’t bother me) and I’ve never touched the other one. The one I prune is at least as big as the one that’s never been pruned.
In colder climates (~zone 5 and below), Buddleias suffer total winter kill, down to the ground. And still manage to come back in the spring. So your experience is probably not unusual.
Yep, I can see why you want it gone; it really blocks that nice window you have. It doesn’t look like a showier cultivar (although an enthusiastic one), so, if you gotta just get rid of it, no tears shed. If you want to move it, pretty much as said: cut it back way hard, to one foot, soak the ground to make it easier to dig, and get a 2’ rootball, with attached dirt. Have a tarp ready, tip it in, and haul it to where you want to plant it.
It would help the shrub survive if you’ve given the soil some preparation if it’s our usual Southern clay. Dig the planting hole another foot wide and deep from the rootball size, and add organic material, so the roots can stretch out during the winter.
Buddleias are pretty stocky fellas, so it should rebound come spring.
