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Begging - Butterfly Bush or Loosestrife Seeds

13 years ago

Does anyone have any Butterfly Bush or Loosestrife seeds available? Unfortunately I do not have anything for trade as this is my first winter sow attempt.

Thanks

Dorothy (Meadow)

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Comments (11)

kqcrna
13 years ago
Purple loosestrife is very invasive, a problem all over the country.

Karen

Here is a link that might be useful: purple loosestrife
gardenunusual
13 years ago
Even anything crossed with it will revert back to loosestrife.

Great substitutes would be liatris spicata, lupine, delphiniums, salvia.

What happens when plants become invasive is they displace native vegetation and destroy wildlife habitat. One one plant, they produce over 2 million seeds. And once they're in the ground, they are extremely difficult to pull up.
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It isn't up to us to decide who's "unwitting" and who isn't. I refuse to assume that others are ignorant and treat them like children, telling them what's good for them and what isn't. If someone is here on GardenWeb then they have an internet connection, which also gives easy access to Google searches. And PlantsDatabase. And Invasives.org. I somewhat resent being told to "educate" myself about invasives. I know all about invasives, thank you very much. And the ones I don't know about specifically, I know how to research -- as do other "unwitting" gardeners. I know that what is invasive in some places isn't in others. Granted, there are plants that have proven to be a problem nearly everywhere, but many of the plants that make some people hide under the bed out of sheer terror will languish, or fail completely in other areas. "Invasive exotics" can be grown in ways that limit growth: containers to prevent root spread, flowers deadheaded before seeding -- heck, most could probably be grown indoors! And let's not get all xenophobic in our outlook; you don't need exotics to destroy an ecosystem. Even North American native plants can wreak havoc in other areas in North America. If you really want to be thorough in your warning, then maybe you should have added the breathless plea to not trade with people across the rockies, or from dry areas to moist areas, or from crowded forest areas to the Midwest plains.
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Butterfly bushes are just short-lived plants, on average. Occasionally, you'll get one that lives for many years. I have a love/hate relationship with them because of this, and always think of them as temporary. I have grown them in OH and AL, and they seem to die equally well here in AL as they did in OH, so I don't think it's just about cold. I've always had several at a time, and have never had them all die. Every spring when I trim them, I stick the cuttings in various spots in the yard & beds. You want woody twigs from last year's growth. I've had very sparse results trying with new shoots. Pieces that are as big as a pencil or bigger are also less likely to take root. Try to get the stick as deep as you can, burying at least 2 nodes. If they keep wilting too fast, remove most of the foliage, and/or shade with a lawn chair for a week or 2. Yes, it's that easy. Most of them live if I remember to water them occasionally. When something is so easy to propagate, it can be forgiven if individual plants die quickly. I agree with those above who wait until they see signs of growth to trim these. No need spending time shaping a dead bush. There is no need to worry about trimming off the blooms. BB's bloom on new growth, and will continue to bloom all summer if you keep trimming off the dead flowers. As soon as the new ground shoots have a few pairs of leaves, pinch the tips for more branching (more flowers.)
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If the plants have pesticides they'll probably be something systemic, and so won't wash off, but if you knock off as much of the soil in the pot as possible then the plant won't have access to any more that might have leached into that soil. Any new growth and the flowers should be fine. The whole plant should be fine after a few weeks, once any pesticides used have degraded. it's just a precaution you need to take if you have existing caterpillars and run out of milkweed. You'd probably need to be careful with pretty well all commercially grown plants - they might be deadly for caterpillars. I have been told that I should never use store bought parsley to feed my black swallowtail caterpillars - fortunately I've never run out of my own parsley, so it's never been something I needed to worry about :-) Wooly bears, if they're the black and brown banded sort, are the caterpillars of the Isabella moth. The yellow sorts with the black hairs are Tussock moth caterpillars. They overwinter as caterpillars, and pupate in the spring - the ones you saw had probbly just emerged form hibernation and were looking for a place to pupate. BP
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jodie74
13 years ago
What color butterfly bush are you looking for? I may have some I can send!

Jodie
kimka
13 years ago
I have some dark purple flowered butterfly bush seeds from this past fall. Email me at my wortk email Kim.Kaplan "at" ars.usda.gov (my home email is wonky again) and I'll give you an address to send a a stamped bubble mailer. Als take a lokk at my list and see if there is anything else you might want.
countrycarolyn
13 years ago
Dorothy, what kind of loosestrife are you asking about??

There are several genus that are all called loosestrife. Some as stated above are extremely invasive and actually prohibited to sell and distribute. Then there is some that is a totally different genus that is also called loosestrife that aren't invasive. Botanical by any chance??
linda_jo
13 years ago
It is always good to check your state's list of Exotic Invasives before planting, especially shrubs. This sometimes becomes a problem with plants we love so much we all plant them. Currently Butterfly bush is on the "low threat" list here in NC. Purple loosestrife is listed as a "significant threat". I just yanked all my Nandina domestica "Firepower". I thought the berries were useful as food for birds. What I didn't know was the birds were planting them everywhere and they were choking out natives that have long been food sources for all wildlife. As gardeners we must act responsibly for the environment and try to educate others. Now I have to get off this box and go outside and hug my trees...Linda
countrycarolyn
13 years ago
What is that nadina that is even worse than firepower?? Oh my word the runners on that bad boy are crazy ridiculous!!

I sure can't think of the name of it but it has berries, I wonder if that is the nadina you are referring to linda because if I am not mistaken firepower doesn't produce berries. If so that thing is EXTREMELY invasive around here!!
countrycarolyn
13 years ago
Let me rephrase that...

The nandina plants that we bought from a nursery for my sisters house that were labeled firepower do not produce berries. They are dwarf maybe at the most they get 3 feet high.

The nandina I am thinking about that has feet long runners and berries that spread like wildfire gets to be anywhere to 6 to 10 feet tall. Growth of like a short tree large shrub in upright form but only maybe 3 to 4 feet wide and sparse looking.
linda_jo
13 years ago
No I didn't have "Firepower" after all. I had the tall one, Nandina Domestica Thun (thunbergii). They were covered with berries. The Firepower would be a good choice since it doesn't have berries. It turns very red in the fall through winter and stays short- right? Sorry about the error in name.
countrycarolyn
13 years ago
The firepower does have a beautiful fall color!! Yeah they don't get very tall and there not anywhere as aggressive as the taller one that produces the berries. The only thing I do not like about the firepower is that I can not say they are short lived but they start to look tacky 10 years down the road. They aren't my choice shrub, my sister loves them though.
dorothy4981
Original Author
13 years ago
Kim and Jodie, thank you. I have sent you each an email.

Carolyn, I do not know what kind of loosestrife I had in the past but I was given one seedling - I had it for over 8 years and never had a second. Apparently whatever type it was, it was not invasive.

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