Butterfly Bush as Bonsai?

[RichKid]

Any thoughts? Has anyone ever seen a butterfly bush used as a bonsai? Pros, cons? Care tips? Any info at all would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[QuintinBonsai]

I've never heard of such a plant. The common consensus is that almost anything that develops a woody trunk can theoretically be made into bonsai. As long as the the leaves are within size for ramification, it should be okay.

See Ravi Kiran's post in the following link.
http://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t5285-rare-species-of-bonsai

See also;
http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_buda2.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddleja_davidii

So it's appears that it is native to China, grows well in climate zones 5-10, is very invasive, and seen by many as a weed.

 

[GrimLore]

WOW! That is a loaded question indeed Sir! That plant has at least a 100 varieties and some are trees! To mix it up even more some are evergreen and some are deciduous Sounds confusing enough for me to avoid purchasing one but honest if you have some that Winter well in these parts most anything can be chopped and trained

 

[RichKid]

WOW! That is a loaded question indeed Sir! That plant has at least a 100 varieties and some are trees! To mix it up even more some are evergreen and some are deciduous Sounds confusing enough for me to avoid purchasing one but honest if you have some that Winter well in these parts most anything can be chopped and trained

So I've read. I'm asking cause someone is asking me to redo their landscaping and they have one they are wanting to get rid of and I was thinking instead of just destroying it I could make a project for myself. I just wanted to know if it was even worth the effort, soil, container, time, etc lol. Thanks, This one is a shrub. It still has leaves now but they don't look like evergreen, just deciduous that never fell.

 

[cmeg1]

well,the typical deciduous type will grow in anything,anywhere.The seedlings sprout in my yard from the big bush and in three years has an 8"trunk already.

 

[Dav4]

Personally, I wouldn't bother. Their growth habit is too coarse, I would think.

 

[RichKid]

Personally, I wouldn't bother. Their growth habit is too coarse, I would think.

What do you mean by that?

 

[Dav4]

What do you mean by that?

They tend to to grow rapidly, which leads to long internodes, and they have fairly large, long leaves, as well.

 

[Adair M]

I cut my butterfly bushes I have in the yard back every year. Like with landscape crepe myrtles. Every so often, there is significant dieback.

The bees and butterflys like them.

 

[RichKid]

They tend to to grow rapidly, which leads to long internodes, and they have fairly large, long leaves, as well.

Yeah, I've noticed that. I was thinking maybe because people just let the wild with little pruning. Maybe I'll just throw it in a large pot and use it as a landscape specimen.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

The old adage is that any woody tree can become bonsai, if the first 6 inches or so of trunk are interesting, why not give it a try? I would.

Buddleja davidii and its hybrids are the most common of the Buddleja in the USA landscape nurseries. As Adair and Dave4 said, the natural traits of this species are not ideal for bonsai. Adair's comment out crepe myrtle bear thinking about. Like crepe myrtle, Buddleja bloom on the current season growth. This means to see flowers, you have to let it grow out. I have seen a few crepe myrtle bonsai in bloom, and they loose a lot of their bonsai shape if they are allowed to bloom. The small leaves of crepe myrtle means that you can work around this, and every summer bonsai show usually has one or two in bloom and looking pretty good.

With the summer blooming in mind, if you have a good trunk, it is worth a try, but go for a larger size design, perhaps in the 3 to 5 feet range. Plan your design so that allowing 'escape' branches to extend and bloom in summer won't leave you with a weird looking shrub. Personally I wouldn't try to do anything smaller than 2 feet, the leaves and internode distances are just too big. It will be a tough one to work, but if the trunk is interesting, its worth the effort.

Those are my thoughts.

 

[cmeg1]

If I had to make a bonsai out of butterfly bush ,I would gather many seedlings and spiral them around a dead piece of wood and grow them out so they fuse(would happen very quickly).Naka showed how to do that with wild honeysuckle.Every branch can be from a different seedling.In just a couple few years you could have a monster of a trunk.The seedlings that grow from all these cultivared bushes are absolutely bionic growth and extremely hardy in my zone 7.I find them every year growing in anything.

 

[RichKid]

If I had to make a bonsai out of butterfly bush ,I would gather many seedlings and spiral them around a dead piece of wood and grow them out so they fuse(would happen very quickly).Naka showed how to do that with wild honeysuckle.Every branch can be from a different seedling.In just a couple few years you could have a monster of a trunk.

Will the wood ever rot? would something inorganic be better? just questions, not sure i'd have the patience to try

 

[cmeg1]

Will the wood ever rot? would something inorganic be better? just questions, not sure i'd have the patience to try

I read that technique in Naka's techniques 1 or 2 and I believe it was old wood that was not green.I would not see a problem with it.He said the technique was good for lanky vines and stuff.I am actually considering to try it as I have Buddlea seedling galore in my yard and at least make an interesting yard or potted specimen.I always found it fun to tidy up the butterfly bush and never let them seed and just keep dead-heading them and forcing bloom.It would be fun to make a trunk and see how they react to fertilizer.

 

[cmeg1]

The more I think about it I want to try to at least make a neato yard specimen.I watched one seedling grow into a 8" trunk in like three or four years cause' I never pruned it.I would love to see the glob of trunk that would be produced from wrapping about 20 seedlings around a rather large piece of deadwood to fuse into the illusion of a gnarly spiral trunk.I cannot believe I have never seen them for sale like that.

 

[MrBojan9les]

I do landscape design for a living and haven't really gotten in to bonsai much at all yet..but my plans are to use plants from renovations and make some attempts.. The way I look at it...whether it's used for bonsai much at all or not, who really cares? There are a ton of plants that I see all the time in the landscape that have been left to get way overgrown..cut back..overgrow..cut back, rinse and repeat.. A lot of times they're left with some nice trunks and I see lots of potential.. And also being that I'm in Phx, AZ it seems to me that this would be the best way to find some material capable of surviving without being misted 4 times a day..

And yeah...your question is literally impossible because of the number of species..and then cultivars and varities...of plants commonly called "butterfly bush."

Start googling and figure out what you have.... Any of these?

clerodendrum

Buddleia (...probably 1000 different cultivars within just that species)


I saw some nice Leucophyllums today that I intend to take a closer look at and maybe make an attempt on... I think they'd be perfect considering their growth habit, drought tolerance, overall hardiness... Are they used much?

 

[RichKid]

The more I think about it I want to try to at least make a neato yard specimen.I watched one seedling grow into a 8" trunk in like three or four years cause' I never pruned it.I would love to see the glob of trunk that would be produced from wrapping about 20 seedlings around a rather large piece of deadwood to fuse into the illusion of a gnarly spiral trunk.I cannot believe I have never seen them for sale like that.

Actually sounds pretty cool, even if it is just for the yard! You may actually have just thought up a small business for yourself! I see you are in Avondale. Im not far from you, but unfortunately I don't have that many seedlings. I originally asked because I was asked to do some landscaping for a friend and they have a butterfly bush they want removed, so I figured instead of trashing it, I would try to save it for something, possibly a bonsai...

 

[cmeg1]

Richkid.You could always rescue the bush and then I think it would probably seed(as mine does anyway,a purplish non-dwarf varity davidii)the following spring.I imagine they sprout the following spring and you could have the ravenous butterfly seedling phenomena in your yard too.

 

[RichKid]

Richkid.You could always rescue the bush and then I think it would probably seed(as mine does anyway,a purplish non-dwarf varity davidii)the following spring.I imagine they sprout the following spring and you could have the ravenous butterfly seedling phenomena in your yard too.

I believe its the same purplish non dwarf davidii species you mention. plan on chopping it down this spring, relocating the stump to a growbox/pot and seeing if I can get it healthy.

 

[cmeg1]

Here is the seedling I let go in the yard.I remember when I spotted it.It is roughly 4 years old.Maybe a tad bit more,but I remember when I spotted it on the pile of dirt I made from digging my first cold frame and I have not had the cold frame that long.