Buddleia frozen to death: this is how you react correctly

Buddleia are perennial ornamental plants that are actually hardy. Even so, it can happen that they show frost damage after a harsh winter. This is what you should do when the Buddleia has frozen to death.

Buddleia

Buddleia, also called butterfly lilac, are a genus of plants belonging to the fig family (Scrophulariaceae). Today, a good 100 species are assigned to the genus. In gardens and parks at home they are

• Butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii) and the
• Alternate-leaved Buddleia (Buddleja alternifolia)

most common. There are numerous varieties of both species that differ not only in growth and / or flower color, but also in terms of frost resistance. Therefore, when buying, you should make sure that the selected Buddleja variety is actually hardy in your region.

Save Buddleia

If the buddleia has frozen to death, the rescue measures consist of two steps:

• Determine the extent of the frost damage
• Fix damage

Determine the extent of the frost damage

This step is primarily about finding out if

• only the above-ground parts of the plant or
• also the roots

have suffered from frost and cold. If the former is the case, the gardener speaks of the summer lilac freezing back, if the latter occurs, the ornamental shrub has frozen and you must expect a total failure.

Freeze back

Frost damage to the above-ground parts of the plant always occurs in the Buddleia when it gets too cold.

This weather can freeze the butterfly lilac:

• severe winter
• mild winter with cold onset of winter in early spring
• unexpected late frost with very low temperatures

Total failure

Fortunately, freezing of the roots is rare in buddleia. There is danger

• with longer periods of frost around minus 20 degrees Celsius
• during bar frosts (cold spells without a protective blanket of snow)

Vitality test

The weather is a good indicator for assessing frost damage, but for an exact determination you should do a so-called vitality test. To do this, scrape a little bark off the branch with a sharp and disinfected knife. Is the underlying tissue

• green, the shoot is still alive
• brown, he's frozen to death

Note: Only remove as much bark as necessary, as exposing the tissue will damage the plant.

Fix damage

In order for your buddleia to get fit again, it needs to be pruned. Proceed as follows:

• Shorten living (green) shoots to 30 to 50 centimeters
• Cut off frozen (brown) twigs at the base

When you do the pruning depends on the cause and the weather conditions in your region:

• after a harsh winter (rough locations): late March / early April
• in mild regions: possible from the end of February
• after a late frost, when no more can be expected: as soon as the weather corresponds to the season

Care after pruning

In order for your buddleia to recover after the winter cold and pruning, it needs a lot of strength and energy. Therefore, after cutting, indulge it as follows:

• with a generous portion Horn shavings and fertilize compost
• Work fertilizer on the surface of the root disc
• to water

Prevent frost damage

Buddleia are generally considered to be hardy. However, they need a certain time until they have developed their frost hardiness. So are variety-independent

• young specimens (under five years of age) and
• freshly planted older shrubs (less than five standing years)

endangered. So that these butterfly lilacs survive the winter well, you should protect the lower area from frost and cold. For this, the following can be used as frost protection:

• a layer of mulch
• a layer of compost
• Fir branches

Note: If mild days alternate with frosty nights in early spring, you can cover younger summer lilacs with a plant protection fleece at night.

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