Nanho Blue Butterfly Bushes & Sunny Knock Out Rose

mcr1968

13 years ago

Do you have them in your gardens? Can I see them...pretty please? My sweet hubby bought me 2 of the butterfly bushes and one of the Sunny KO rose bushes yesterday, and I could really use some help. I'm trying to find the perfect spot for them but not sure where to put them :( I've searched and searched for answers, but not having any luck. Do the butterfly bushes really need to be spaced 4-5 ft apart as it says on the card in the pot or can they be placed closer together? Both the butterfly bushes and the KO rose say "Full sun - 6+ hours direct sun". Will they grow/live with less? Should it be morning sun or afternoon sun or does it matter? Any other tips/help for these plants would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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Oakley

13 years ago

Natal, those are yellow Four O'clocks.

Thanks for the compliment. Did you know I used my Garden claw to turn over all the dirt? Even though we have a tiller the Claw was sooo much easier. We plan to add more filler flowers there, and also more plants down the rest of the fenceline.

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Comments (8)

Oakley
13 years ago
You sound like me when I first planted my BB and KO's last summer! lol.

I have around 7 KO's and 1 BB. When I received my BB bush last Spring it said to keep it in the pot until Fall, and to plant it in the ground before a frost. And that's what I did and now the plant is several feet tall and wide!

The KOs really do need as much sun as you can give them. Mine get sun from morning to night but I think they'll do well in 5-6 hours of sun.

This is a new bed we built this year, so excuse the messiness of it, we'll make it better looking next summer.

It's near our barbed wire fence and on the other side are weeds from a small pasture area.

The red knockout on the left we planted last year, and it doubled in size this year. The other KOs were planted this year. The yellow Rose is the one that's just now starting to bloom. I have the other KO's in my other flowerbed.

And they love water!

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Butterfly bush which is just now starting to bloom.

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Looking down the fence line.

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natal
13 years ago
MCR, yes, follow the spacing directions for the butterfly bushes. You'll regret it if you don't.

Oakley, I love the natural way that bed looks! What's the yellow blooming plant next to the bag of mulch?
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All of the excess rain this year, lots of floppy, weak plants likely anywhere where this has been the case. Also, nearly constantly beating rain can literally beat plants down. Whenever it's raining, the sun is also not shining, a double whammy when stuff isn't thirsty and has hardly see the sun for weeks. Keep deadheading to remove excess weight. The good thing is that the butterflies don't care what it looks like. Totally agree with spring trimming. When you see strong new growth next year, trim aggressively for shape and sturdiness, removing any weak, spindly branches completely, any not aimed upright or crossing each other, and radically shortening the length/height overall. As they continue to grow, trim when/where necessary to keep the shape that pleases your eye. Looking from several sides first, and from above when possible can help you determine the extraneous parts that should be removed. BB's left alone for a while will get too wild, they need a lot of futzing and trimming all summer to keep it looking great, and trimming causes more vigorous new growth, more blooms to form. (But stop trimming in the fall to stop sending it cues to keep growing, except to deadhead.)
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I might add that this method of propagation can be used for many other shrubs as well, at this time of year. This is called using "hardwood" cuttings method or because it is done during the winter also called "dormant" cuttings. Because the BB used in the example was stored in a protected spot, it wasn't exactly dormant but I started other BB cuttings at the same time from dormant plants in my garden. The cuttings require no leaves, in fact most won't have any because of the time of year. But the cutting will usually begin to grow leaves and even flowers (like forsythia) before the cutting actually grows roots. The cuttings are taken from the last years growth of the shrub, about pencil thick. Some of the easier shrubs to propagate using this method are forsythia, willows, dogwoods, spireas, blue mist, BB's etc. There are other methods of propagation, used at other times of the year as well. Softwood or greenwood cuttings are used in spring or early summer using new growth from the tips of the shrub or growth that is just past new, that easily snaps off. In this case the cutting already has leaves but you just strip off the leaves at the bottom of the cutting which you dip in rooting hormone. The rest of the leaves remain although if they are large, you can cut them in half to reduce the amount of transpiration. You want some leaves left to provide photosynthesis. There seems to be a little confusion as to what method of propagation to use at which time of year and how it is done. It would be really helpful to get a couple books on propagation to research and understand the different methods and why they are used. Hope this information helps a little.
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natal
13 years ago
How many hours a day are they open?

I thought you only used that tool for specific plantings. I'm too attached to the straight-edge spade for turning soil. Never used a tiller ... not even in the garden. The only gas-powered tool I use is the car. ;) I'm trying to get dh to switch to battery-powered. He just ordered a battery-operated trimmer. I'm hoping he likes it cause then there's hope for a battery-operated blower and maybe even mower.
cindysunshine
13 years ago
I have Nanho Blue planted with cleome, spider flowers - it is just starting to bloom - I will snap a pic in a few days when it shows up more.

I have lots of BB - a big white one and my favorite are the very dark purple ones. They just drip with butterflies and while they aren't that great all alone they add height and substance in the middle or back of a flower bed. I have had mine for a long time - very hardy for me here, but they do die back to the ground. I always leave them to cut back until spring where they give some substance and form and perching spots for birds for the winter garden.
Oakley
13 years ago
These yellow flowers open way late in the day, right before sunset which I don't like. My purple one's next to the house open around 6. But at least the unopened yellow ones still add some color.
mcr1968
Original Author
13 years ago
Oakley, your flower bed is beautiful! I can't wait to see it after you put in your filler flowers and plants. After observing the sun all day, I think I found a place for the KO. It'll be planted in the front yard. The spot I wanted to plant my BB's is only receiving about 4 hours of direct sun. I'm not seeing anything on my BB that says to keep it in the pot till Fall. Do you think it would be ok to plant it now? If I have to keep it in a pot till Fall, I will DEFINITELY end up killing it...lol...

natal: don't want to regret anything, so I'll follow the spacing directions :)

cindy: can't wait to see your pics! I've never heard of spider flowers. I do have 1 "very lonely" Raspberry Wine Monarda that I think would look pretty in front of one of the Nanho BB's.

OK...going back outside to see if I can find a spot for the BB's. Thanks guys for all of your help! You guys are great!
DYH
13 years ago
Watering is very important at first to get BBs established. You'll see limp leaves if planted in the summer-- until the roots take hold. That is why it is best to wait until fall, but I have transplanted mature BBs in the heat of the summer. My husband says that they're hard to kill! If your BBs are small enough that you can shade them a bit during the hottest part of the day, that will reduce the limp leaves and stress.

My poor BBs get 12 hours of sun a day summer! There were 8 butterflies on 1 bush this morning. I probably have 20 bushes and I didn't give them a drop of water during our 21 days of 90+ heat with no rain.

Definitely, give BBs space. The Nanho BBs will look good with your KO rose, if you want to grow them in the same garden. Same conditions. KO roses are remarkably drought-tolerant, too.

Cameron

Nanho Blue Butterfly Bushes & Sunny Knock Out Rose

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Nanho Blue Butterfly Bushes & Sunny Knock Out Rose

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