butterfly bush no panicles

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maimes Lowellville, OH Aug 23, 2006

I have an update on my dwarf butterfly bush from Lowe's last year. It finally bloomed but not in panicles like it did last year but in tiny clusters of 10 flowerettes at the joining of each leaf along the stems. It faces west and gets full afternoon sun from about 11 am on, fertillized with plant tone and is planted in a raised bed.Didn't cut back last year. What went wrong?

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StarhillForest Illinois, IL(Zone 5b) Aug 24, 2006

Maybe you have B. alternifolia? If so, it's more subtle and refined in flower and it's hardy in Zone 5 as a woody shrub instead of a dieback perennial.

Guy S.

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Aug 24, 2006

B. alternifolia is a spring bloomer so I wouldn't expect to be seeing it in bloom now. Couple possibilities...could it be B. x weyeriana instead (this one has yellowish flowers)--it doesn't tend to have flowers in panicles at all, but smaller more ball-shaped clusters that sound like what you're describing. Also, some of the dwarf B. davidii cultivars don't have as big panicles of flowers as the bigger ones do. Or, it could be that they flower better if you cut them back--if you're sure that this plant had much bigger panicles last year that could be the problem. I always cut mine back so I'm not sure if this could be the case or not.

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maimes Lowellville, OH Aug 29, 2006

thank you for all your input. The crazy bush finally bloomed small half dollar sized lt. purple ball shaped blooms all along the stems. Too bad I haven't seen any butter flies for over a week! Oh well. I guess I'll make a new bed for it (mostly by itself)

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