Southern Utah Gardening: Spring pruning
A recent gardening project of mine was to cut back a large deciduous shrub. The large shrub I cut back was butterfly bush. I refer to this shrub as deciduous because it loses its leaves in the fall, goes dormant in the winter, and starts growing again in the spring. I chose to cut it back in early March but could have done it four to six weeks earlier.
The variety of butterfly bush I have is petite plum. It is considered a dwarf variety, growing four to six feet high and about five feet wide. It needs full sun but can tolerate a bit of shade, especially in Washington County. Petite plum is considered drought tolerant, and its large, lightly fragrant, light purple flowers attract butterflies to your garden summer into fall. Being cold-hardy to at least -15 degrees and probably a bit more, this dwarf butterfly bush is a great shrub for most gardens in southern Utah.
I started cutting back my butterfly bush by using my loppers to remove the large upright braches at about three feet high. New growth had already started, so I chose the new, green branches I liked the most and cut just above where the new growth emerged from the old branch. After I had removed all the large branches, I used my hand pruners to remove any small old branches and twigs to make a tidy compact shrub about three feet high and two feet wide.
I regret that I don’t have pictures of the beautiful summertime flowers that have yet to appear. However, I have included before and after pictures taken on March 6 and another taken about a month after I pruned April 2. Not only can you see how big this shrub was before I cut it back, and how big it will get each season, but you can see how rapidly butterfly bush recovered with a few weeks of warm temperatures. I applied a granular fertilizer right before both pictures were taken, following the directions on the label.
Deciduous flowering shrubs are excellent additions to southern Utah gardens. A butterfly bush’s drought tolerance, heat tolerance, and cold tolerance only add to its beautiful blooming and butterfly-attracting qualities. With a bit of early spring pruning, you have a low-maintenance, high-performing beauty that makes it easy and pleasurable to get outside and enjoy your garden.
Articles related to “Southern Utah Gardening: Spring pruning”
Southern Utah Gardening: How to grow grass in the middle of the desert, for some reason
Southern Utah Gardening: Growing strawberries in home gardens
