Buttery Bush Dying?

Hello All--I need help. My old huge butterfly bush is dying. It was doing fine and blooming up till about a week or so ago. Almost overnite it seemed, the leaves started curling like it needed water (but of course that wasn't the case with all the rain we have had in GA.). My two small butterfly bushes and one older smaller one near it are doing fine and blooming. I checked the trunk and it is not mushy, I can't see any bugs on it, and now all the leaves are dropping. I don't know what the problem is. This started happening when it started getting terribly hot and humid here but since the other butterfly bushes are not affected I don't think that is the problem. Do butterfly bushes die from old age maybe? If anyone can help, I would appreciate it much. This was my very first butterfly bush I ever planted and it has always been a very dependable shrub. I really hate to lose it without trying to do something to save it. Please help. Thanks, CB

Have you tried sprinkling some epsom salts around it? Better yet, dissolve some in water if the ground isn't already saturated.

Mine started dropping leaves but they were yellowing first. Some ironite helped.

Thank you darius. I will try your idea. I was looking at it yesterday trying to decide what I needed to do to it. It is the strangest thing---one stem the size of a golfball or more around, right in the center of the base is doing fine. It is all the outside stems or branches coming up from the base that are dead or dying. I pruned a few limbs that had laid over and some really were dead and some still had life in them but all the leaves had curled, dried and were just hanging on the limbs with the dried up bloom. The base is big and I checked it out but didn't see any rot. The ground was pretty dry around it. But the younger butterfly bushes around it all look fine (not like the soil is too dry underneath). It really is strange. Will let you know what the epsom salts does for it. Thanks. CB

How is your butterfly bush doing? I have one that did the same thing and another not loking good....itis strange.

Hello weeds,
My butterfly bush is hanging on with one limb that is coming out of the center of the base. But it is not looking the best. I pruned all the other limbs back to 3' of the base and hoping what strength it has left will help the one limb to survive till maybe cooler temps arrive so it can go sort of dormant and maybe rest to build it's strength up for next spring. All the younger butterfly bushes that are near it are doing fine. The bush that is dying is about 8 years old---I don't know what their lifespan is. But it was doing a beautiful job of blooming when this happened. I agree it is strange and I would like to find out what has caused it. I wish you luck with yours.

Thanks, mine were new to me but going great guns and boom, dead. All other plants around them are fine so go figure! Thanks and let me know if you find out what happened to yours.

Hey CountryBumpkin!! Long time no see! Miss seeing ya around here :)
As for Butterfly bushes, well my Mother had one last year that done the exact same thing. Her bush was about 6-7yr old as well. Like you said one day it was fine, the next day it was on its way to being dead. She had never cut her's back ever...as where alot of folks do cut theirs back for winter. She had always left her's and it was a hugh bush! She gave her's a dose of "salts" as she calls it LOL and cut back all the dying limbs. It didn't last long after that, it was like nothing she done could stop it. After it finally died we went to pull it up and found that termites had nested in the ground around it. We can't say for sure that they were the problem but its for sure they had set up housekeeping among the roots. She sprayed something on the termites and we done away with the bush, and she hasn't had any problems like that since.
I on the other hand thing that they do have a lifespan of only several years and they have to die off. But that is just my opinion.
Hope your's makes a turn for the better and grows like crazy! Wonder if you could root a piece of it and make it live?? Might be worth a try.

Hey there Mollybee! :) Yes, it sort of has been a while--been busy keeping the grass away from my gardens with all this rain we have had. Ohhhhh, please don't say it is termites---even my house would shudder at that word. I have 3 other butterfly bushes that are planted near my old dying butterfly bush and surely don't want them touched by those little beasty things called termites. I have never pruned this bush either except to take the old blooms off the tips. It has got very tall and I hate that I might be losing it. It's base looks strong and healthy but it would be very hard for me to dig around for it's roots because I have so many other plants planted around it. I might could put out those termite sticks that I have heard of others using around their homes. I wonder if that would work. Thank you for telling me about your mother's bush. I hope I can find a remedy for it before I lose the one live stem that is still on it. Painted Lady told me how to do butterfly bush cuttings and I have trying that now just in case. I hope I can save the old bush but if not, maybe a cutting from it will root. Thanks again for your help. Can't wait to see you again at the Plant Swap in Oct. :)
CB

Country Bumpkin,
You said someone told you how to take cuttings from the butterfly bush. Will you please share that information with me?

Lynda