How to Deadhead a Butterfly Bush
The butterfly bush, also called summer lilac in the genus Buddleia, is a popular landscaping and gardening plant due to its hardiness and easy care. Butterfly bushes grow quickly and come in a variety of colorful blooms. The best characteristic of the butterfly bush is its attraction of butterflies, hence the name. Deadheading (removing dry flowers from) your butterfly bush will ensure that the bush will produce more flowers instead of seed. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Deadhead your butterfly bush during its blooming season, which is usually mid July through September. Deadheading every week or two should be sufficient, but you may need to deadhead more often if your butterfly bush is more mature and has many blooms.
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Deadhead your butterfly bush right after the flower heads begin to brown and before they go to seed. Butterfly bushes can be quite aggressive plants and are dubbed weeds in some regions, so you'll want to limit the amount of seed your butterfly bush produces.
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Snip off the flower clusters with your fingertips right when they finish blooming. Pinch the flower where it meets the twig. You can also use garden shears to deadhead.
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Check to make sure you've left the new buds at the base of the spent flower intact. Using your thumb and forefinger to deadhead can help you avoid accidentally removing the new buds beneath the older, dried buds.
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Tips & Warnings
Prune your butterfly bush in the early spring, before it begins to sprout leaves. You can do all the deadheading you want throughout the summer, but you won't see the maximum number of blooms unless you do the necessary pruning.
Deadheading larger butterfly bushes can seem overwhelming, so don't try to do it all in one day every week or two. You can keep up with the deadheading better and avoid overwhelming yourself if you deadhead every other day or so.
