Buddleia globosa

Gers

I've now been able to identify one of the 'mystery' plants in my garden because it's produced little orange ball type flowers. In early spring I had cut it back really hard and now it's 'rewarded' me with heavy growth and orange balls!

It's really too big for the garden or where it's placed, however if I prune it back again it will only return again. The bottom of it is almost like a huge fallen branch from a tree.

Is there any way to contain it to something more tidy?

Elsewhere

If it likes your garden then probably no! I have one but it doesn't like our clay soil and I struggle to keep it alive - our previous garden was very sandy and it grew crazily fast there.

It's easy to grow new ones from cuttings, however. Why don't you establish a few new plants and then get rid of your old one and replace it with a small one? Maybe restricting the roots by sinking a container into the ground might help keep it in check too.

Farway

I had one, had to kill it off with Roundup, just uncontrollable and too near a garden wall

Gers

Elsewhere wrote: »

If it likes your garden then probably no! I have one but it doesn't like our clay soil and I struggle to keep it alive - our previous garden was very sandy and it grew crazily fast there.

It's easy to grow new ones from cuttings, however. Why don't you establish a few new plants and then get rid of your old one and replace it with a small one? Maybe restricting the roots by sinking a container into the ground might help keep it in check too.

Farway wrote: »

I had one, had to kill it off with Roundup, just uncontrollable and too near a garden wall

Thanks - whilst the flowers are really lovely the whole shrub is just intrusive and blocks any view from the back of the garden where there is a little paved area.

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And here's the trunk the whole thing is coming out of - looks like it's been cut before:

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A neighbour has offered to chainsaw it all off and then probably it can be killed off. Such a shame, but what with that and the spirea which is also enormous now they are just in the way.

Gers

Elsewhere wrote: »

It's easy to grow new ones from cuttings, however. Why don't you establish a few new plants and then get rid of your old one and replace it with a small one? Maybe restricting the roots by sinking a container into the ground might help keep it in check too.

Might just do that - at least then I'll have the beauty of the plant whilst still being able to view my garden.

Thanks.

Davesnave

Buddleia need replacing eventually anyway. I have a weyeriana the size of a small tree, but this year it's not looking happy.

I will make cuttings and fell it when these have taken, though it isn't the best cuiltivar of that type.

Biggles

I have one with the orange balls that I've been meaning to cut down for many years - too big and in the wrong place. I finally went to sort it out last month but when I went to start work on it I found a duck nesting under it; I backed away quickly and left her to it. It might be next year before I get around to it again!

Gers

Biggles wrote: »

I have one with the orange balls that I've been meaning to cut down for many years - too big and in the wrong place. I finally went to sort it out last month but when I went to start work on it I found a duck nesting under it; I backed away quickly and left her to it. It might be next year before I get around to it again!

No ducks here though there may be some birds?

My shrub is taller than me, time to go I think.

Gers

My local country store sold me 5litres of Clinic Ace - got myself some safety goggles and rubber builders gloves so am now going to get going at plant destruction. Seems such a shame but it's huge, the balls are orange and when they die off they go browny / black.

I've also got two tree stumps which are beginning to sprout from the bottom so will do them too.

Do I have to 'paint' every leaf? I don't want to pour the stuff into the ground as it will 'kill everything it touches' (as the sales woman told me :eek: so wonder which is the best way to do it.

Advice / suggestions gratefully received about how to go about this.

Thanks

Davesnave

So far as I remember, Clinic Ace is just glyphosate at about 360g/litre strength, so plenty strong, but you have enough there to kill a field!

One way to manage glyphosate in a difficult situation is to make up a stong solution, put a rubber glove on, then put a cotton glove over that, dip your gloved hand in the mix and run the foliage through your weed killered glove. (Doesn't work well with brambles!)

I have also painted and 'gloved' glyphosate and wallpaper paste mix onto plants, or drilled out holes in live stumps, mixed a bit with water or veggie oil and poured it into the holes, sealing with something like putty or similar to keep rain off.

You don't need to touch every leaf. Growing points and large leaves are best.

The sales lady is sort of correct, but once in the soil, the weedkiller de-activates fast. It's only green stuff it touches that will suffer, but the effects take a few weeks to show.

Your Clinic Ace will store well. I buy by the 5litres, but don't use anything like that, even in a few seasons, and I have several large gravel areas and stoned paths to keep clear, besides using it to kill poor grass areas for re-seeding.

Gers

Davesnave wrote: »

So far as I remember, Clinic Ace is just glyphosate at about 360g/litre strength, so plenty strong, but you have enough there to kill a field!

One way to manage glyphosate in a difficult situation is to make up a stong solution, put a rubber glove on, then put a cotton glove over that, dip your gloved hand in the mix and run the foliage through your weed killered glove. (Doesn't work well with brambles!)

I have also painted and 'gloved' glyphosate and wallpaper paste mix onto plants, or drilled out holes in live stumps, mixed a bit with water or veggie oil and poured it into the holes, sealing with something like putty or similar to keep rain off.

You don't need to touch every leaf. Growing points and large leaves are best.

The sales lady is sort of correct, but once in the soil, the weedkiller de-activates fast. It's only green stuff it touches that will suffer, but the effects take a few weeks to show.

Your Clinic Ace will store well. I buy by the 5litres, but don't use anything like that, even in a few seasons, and I have several large gravel areas and stoned paths to keep clear, besides using it to kill poor grass areas for re-seeding.

That's brilliant - many thanks. I was hoping you were around. The label on the bottle is long enough to make reading it utterly impossible. I folded it back up fairly quickly.

Last night I ventured out to do the deed, or at least start it. I watered down the Clinic Ace, put on a thick rubber glove and painted a few weeds (dandelions and so on) as well as a rough bramble shoot or two. I dabbed a few leaves of the buddleia too as a tester. Then I used the leftovers on some of the weeds in the gravel outside the front door. I'm a bit hesitant about using more of it there as the farmer moves sheep and cattle around so need to check with him before doing any wholesale sloshing.

Luckily the rain held off until this morning so hopefully it had enough time to do the necessary damage. I'll tackle the two tree stumps next week when I get back.

Cheers again!:T