Help with roses and butterflybush

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Iluvposies Republic, PA(Zone 6a) Mar 28, 2012

Hello everyone,
I am really needing some advice. Fairly new to gardening but this weather is really confusing. I usually ( for the last three or four years) cut back my few knockout rose bushes and butterfly bushes in mid March. This year the roses are covered in new growth and the butterfly bushes never really dropped the leaves from last year! Never happened in my past experience. Both are about chest high. Should I continue as normal or not? Any help will be appreciates!
Melinda

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flowAjen central, NJ(Zone 6b) Mar 28, 2012

you said you "usually" prune in Mid March does that mean you didn't do it already? Do it now.

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Mar 28, 2012

I can't speak for the roses, but if you don't prune the butterfly bushes they will end up growing larger than normal (in climates like mine where they never die back over the winter, they can grow to the size of a small tree eventually). If you want to keep them more compact, I'd prune them now. They bloom on new wood so you won't be hurting anything to do what you normally do. But if you've always wished they would get larger, then you won't hurt anything by leaving them alone either (I always cut mine back--otherwise they get very lanky & kind of ugly looking, they have a much nicer form/habit if they're cut back every year).

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tommyr2006 Poughkeepsie, NY(Zone 6a) Mar 28, 2012

Prune the butterfly bushes NOW. Don't forget next year! They will be o.k., don't worry.

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Iluvposies Republic, PA(Zone 6a) Apr 01, 2012

Thank you all so much for the guidance. I have cut both back. lets see what happens with the roses. At least I will have learned something!

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