How to prune buddleia

Plantsman John Hoyland shows how to prune buddleia to achieve a well-shaped, prolifically flowering plant. Photographs by Gavin Kingcome

By John Hoyland

Published: Thursday, 11 January 2024 at 17:10 PM

Buddleias are popular and easy going shrubs that are a favourite with butterflies, hence their common name, the butterfly bush. They come in a range of colours, from white to magenta dark purple. Some are compact and can be grown in pots and containers.

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To keep buddleias flowering well every year, they need to be pruned correctly. After cutting back all the stems you will be briefly left with an unattractive stump, but not cutting it back could result in a shrub that is 3m tall with a solitary flower at the tip and lots of unsightly, brown spent flowers from the previous year, similar to those found growing on railway embankments.

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How to prune buddleia

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Most buddleias including Buddleja davidii and Buddleja x weyeriana should be pruned in spring, from late March to mid-April. Buddleja alternifolia is pruned in early to midsummer. Buddleja globosa does not need regular pruning but can be cut back in late winter to keep it in shape (bear in mind that this will affect flowering the following summer).

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The stems of Buddleja davidii should be cut right down to the base.

Even by the end of a single season the stems can be thick and woody, so you will need loppers or a pruning saw rather than a pair of secateurs.

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Buddleja alternifolia is pruned differently. It flowers on stems that have grown the previous year, so removing these stems in the spring would leave you with no flowers. As soon as its flowers have gone over in early to mid summer, follow down along the stem and cut just above a new shoot.

Pruning tools: