Oh, tiffy--SO sorry about your buddleias! I wish I knew more about them and could advise the best way around the problem but I've only been growing them a couple of years. Earl missed us here in CT so mine are all still fine. If you aren't able to salvage the ones you've got, let me know & I'll save seeds for you from mine. The ones I WS this year are blooming so chances are you'd have blooms next year if you WS seeds this winter. I whack mine down to about 8" every year but I do it in the spring, not in autumn. I hope someone with more knowledge than me chimes in here to help you out.

I have had buddleias uprooted from storms. We trimmed off the weight of the heaviest branches; replanted, staked (using heavy string) to keep them in the ground until they rooted again. They recovered that year and the same thing happened the following summer. Repeat. They survived and bloom just like all the others. We did have to leave the string/stakes up all winter long and removed them this past spring when we cut back all of the buddleia as usual.

I'm in zone 7b, so buddleias are very easy to grow here.

Hope this helps.
Cameron

I wouldn't be afraid to take some of the longer, heavier branches off. I have a Dubonnet that was so top heavy, it seemed to be trying to heave itself out of the ground. I knew that the winter winds would definitely help pull it out. So, that fall, I pruned it back somewhat, not like you would do in the spring, but I did shorten the long branches, and it did just fine. I've not had that problem with it again, and now it grows just the same as my other buddleias. No more top heavy branches. Good luck and I hope yours all come back for you next spring.

Linda

Thanks for the input, especially from zone 5/6!!

Gardenweed, I actually have 5 which were started from seed this year. I start some every year for fear the winter will take some of the ones in the gardens. but so far I've given them to other gardeners the following spring since mine are sturdy buggers. :O)

Cameron,
I probably wouldn't worry about this so much if I was in a zone 7. Your zone seems to be the ideal zone for these plants.

They are not completely out of the soil so I will try Linda's approach of pruning and combined it with your tie-down. I will also be mulching them this year which I don't normally do.

Thanks for the feedback and all the best!

all you can do with an injured branch.. is prune it off ...

i mean.. what the heck... you cant leave the injury there ...

they are extremely short lived in my zone 5.. most dying in winter.. a couple 2 winters... you know that by the facts provided ... so just do the best you can.. and so be the rest..

and start some more seed this winter ..

ken

You could turn disaster to advantage and use some of the prunings to increase your stock if you wish. In milder climates this is just a quaestion of sticking the cuttings into the ground and forgetting them but the link explains how to do it more carefully.

Here is a link that might be useful: Taking Buddleja cuttings

Unfortunately at this time of year - in my zone - starting from cuttings is not an option but I did start 5 from cuttings earlier this year. I tried some with rooting hormone and some without and the ones without are the ones which produced!!

So sorry about your losses. We always seem to lose a few plants to mother nature each year...

tiffy, mulching is a great idea. My buddleias are all mulched and have been coming back strong for 4 years. Good luck, and let us know in spring how your plants did.

Linda