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| I am new to this house and am trying to ID some of the plants, trees and shrubs around here.
Can anyone ID this;
Thanks for the help! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Buddleja davidii (or one of its garden hybrids). This has become quite weedy out here, coming up in numbers along rivers and access routes, in industrial areas - even on the faces of old buildings. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Tue, Mar 22, 11 at 16:02
| google proper pruning.. but most of that leggy stuff on the left should probably get cut down near the ground .... i will defer to others with more knowledge .... but even the viable stuff... could be taken down to one or two viable buds... to make a much more contained plant ... ken |
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| Thanks for the info. After reading some about the 'Summer Lilac', I'm not sure I'm in love with that plant. I think I may replace them with some Lantana. This spot is in full sun and the Lantanas we had at our other house did very well. Thoughts? |
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| By Lantana, are you referring to 'Miss Huff' because that is the only reliably perennial one in Atlanta. Others should be considered annuals (although 'New Gold' has some potential). I don't care for Butterfly bush myself and might instead suggest something like Fothergilla. Lantana 'Miss Huff' will have a longer season of bloom but it will be late to leaf out and usually has to resprout from the base of the plant and grow all over again. But it will bloom until frost. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Wed, Mar 23, 11 at 9:15
| it is not one of my faves.. mostly cuz they dont winter over ... in my zone but it can be a rather interesting plant ... supposed to be a real butterfly magnet ... presuming you did not win the lotto .. and have an unlimited budget at your new house .. i dont understand why you dont just cut it down to about 6 inches.... or the buds as i mentioned.. and enjoy it for this summer ... while you spend money on other things.. and then.. if you are under-impressed by fall.. get rid of it then ... but why not experiment and increase your garden knowledge??? whatever you decide is fine with me.. good luck ken |
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| They are usually cut back to within a few inches of the ground in the Spring. This will make it less leggy and scruffy. It will produce strong new shoots with larger leaves and larger flower pannicles than if left unpruned. This is not a candidate for Ken's favourite regeneration pruning. It needs a more robust approach. |
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| Thanks everyone. It sounds like it should be treated a lot like the Lantana that I mentioned that I have at my old house. I'm not sure what variety it was, but that thing (actually several of them) was awesome. It grew big and full (probably nearly 5' across) with lots and lots of yellow blooms. In the winter, it would die to the ground leaving a nasty jungle torture device with lots of straight, pointy, woody twigs 3' long. In fact I just cut those back today to within a foot of the ground and the shoots were starting to appear at the ground. I'm sure, as always, they will grow back into beautiful, full plants in short order. That being said, I probably will cut these butterfly bushes back and see what I have there. Is it OK to go ahead and cut them back now? Thanks again for the advice! |
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| yes, now is fine! :) |
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