Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Apodemus

Davesnave said:

I'm just a sucker for anything that brings in the insects.

I'll send you some roadkill!

Farway

Morning folks, another wet one of course so I've skipped checking the volunteer border this morning, certainly won't need watering

 Buddlias, As Dave, but will stand any amount of mis treatment

My white one is a bit choosy with insects as well, some years smothered in them and some years not

I prefer the purple ones really because my white one looks a mess once the flowers go brown, and the purple ones seem to have more go in them, but maybe it's the variety of cutting I "pruned" from Co op car park?

My Jazz ones are disappointing, I blame T & M for over hyping this.

Only one of three has survived but they're in terracotta pots baking in the sun but given buddlias grow out of walls & cracks I think they should've been a bit more robust

Talking of cuttings, they do make dead easy hard wood ones this time, or any time really, when you're pruning.

The white one has since provided a nice screen at my volunteer place, plus the neighbour has one now

Fuchsias, outside in ground, I leave until the early spring then cut back low once some green buds show

Round here fuchsias in pots are vine weevil food

Davesnave

I second Farway on the white buddleia comment and the fuchsias in pots, which is why I asked. By now, if they're potted, the evil weevils will be half way through their winter meal.

Black_Cat2

Thanks for the advice guys - apart from A, who gets a slap for wanted to kill off my buddleias! *slap* 😉

Purple buddleia is in the ground, white buddleia is in a pot.  Purple one is the same as yours F - stolen from by the side of the road lol but it does well.  White one is from a garden centre and probably has a name but I'm crap at keeping name tabs, instructions, basically anything useful! 😕

It's good to know I can be pretty ruthless with them and hopefully not kill them.  I can't imagine having a garden without at least one buddleia.  So much joy to be had with the insects/butterflies. 

Fuschias are pot bound and inherited when we bought the house. No idea what variety they are and don't like the idea of anything eating them... let alone weevils!  Will Google weevils in a moment, well maybe I'll eat lunch first just incase they're freaky things.  Fuschias are all red and white flowers.  They've done pretty well seeing I've pretty much neglected them for a couple of years.  So seeing they're in pots do I still wait for new shoots in Spring before cutting them back?

Davesnave

If the fuchsias have survived a few years then maybe there aren't that many vine weevils around and you'll be OK to leave them. Yes, cut back lightly now and harder again in the spring.

Farway

Maybe the fuchsias are so pot bound the weevils can't get an elbow in?

Black_Cat2

Farway said:

Maybe the fuchsias are so pot bound the weevils can't get an elbow in?

Rofl 😹

[Deleted User]

Black_Cat2 said:

Morning peeps from a rainy ole Somerset ☔

D, was tempted to burn a bonfire for the first time ever this year just to pee my neighbour off (I know not very adult of me) who lights his bonfire on the hottest days of the year when he makes sure you have your washing out and windows wide open!  Instead decided to still take my garden waste to the dump.  Quite lucky here, it's not that far away.

C, look forward to your M5 weather update lol, have fun 😸

Could do with some advice from everyone please.  I'm a fairly new gardener and green when it comes to even the most basic of plants... 

My buddleia(s) are confusing me atm.  I have a purple flowered one which has finished flowering after a summer of outstanding beauty.  I think it may have been all the sun it got.  I also have a new edition of a white flowered one, which is still flowering and has been a bit of a disappointment in so far as butterflies have been concerned.  Not sure why they don't like it?  Anyway, can you lovely peeps help with a plan on how I should be tackling them for next year? Do I wait for the white one to finish flowering and then look to trim it? How much do I trim off? right down to the ground or just snip off some unruly branches?

I also have fuchsias which are also still in flower and I have no idea what I need to do with them!

Would like to get my timings right as I don't want to kill any of them. 

Mornin' BC.
Butterflies on Buddleias ......the butterfly is drawn to vivid colours and as such the strong purples and pinks are the best for drawing them in.
The ones i have that are bright are always absolutely covered in them, the paler, wishy-washy ones definaitely nowhere near as many.

As for putting gardens 'to bed' each year - i don't do it, i will prune in early spring, some things, and that's to simply tidy up the shape.
Perennials, shrubs, trees - all get the above treatment, in the winter old seed heads attract finches and that's why i do it.

[Deleted User]

Davesnave said:

[Deleted User] said:

So, being a Tuesday ..... i'm off up the wotsit again  ........😆😋🚗

I go up the wotsit as little as possible these days. It takes me 40 minutes just to get to the wotsit, and then it's anyone's guess what the wotsit will be like, especially around Weston Super Mud and the Almondsbury Catch-You-Out ("Off to Worcester with you!" "But....." "Too late mate!" )

I have a horrible feeling I'll be going up there tomorrow. It's mother in law's birthday and I can see us all congregating in sixes, (socially-distanced of course) in a car park somewhere like Burrow Mump, singing Happy Birthday in the rain....

Totally agree, awful area, avoid like the plague.

[Deleted User]

Apodemus said:

Davesnave said:

You won't kill buddleia, Black Cat!

...but in my view worth every effort to try! Definitely on my hate list that one!

Wow ! Never met a Buddliea hater 😉
I can see why in a small garden though ..... in those instances the dwarf range provide all the balze of colour without the height and spread, i have 6 here, put 1 in the ground in spring and it's loving it 👍💖