Buddleia leaves curl up: what to do? 5 possible solutions

Rolled up leaves on buddleia put the gardener on alert. With this behavior, the opulent flowering wood signals that the framework conditions are out of balance. Various causes can cause the frequent damage. The spectrum of possible triggers extends from frost damage to care errors and pest infestation. A step-by-step analysis in the process of elimination leads to the solution to the problem. Read 5 possible solutions in this guide. This is to be done when the leaves roll up on Buddleja.

Butterfly lilac leaves roll up

Buddleia thrills as a richly branched, deciduous shrub with a funnel-shaped stature. Tightly upright main shoots are characteristic, the side branches overhanging picturesquely. Premium varieties for the garden stretch up to 400 centimeters towards the sky. Dwarf varieties remain at a height of 60 to 100 centimeters, ideal for cultivation in the tub. From July to October, the flowering wood adorns the bed and balcony with large, curved panicles of flowers that magically attract butterflies, bees and bumblebees. Buddleja owes its second name butterfly lilac to this property.

The summer flower fairy tale relies on a whole host of lanceolate leaves to ensure the supply. The up to 10 centimeters long, pointed leaves appear punctually at the beginning of this year's vegetation period and pave the way for the upcoming flower festival. If the leaves of the buddleia roll up before or during the flowering period, there is an urgent need for action. Because without its foliage, the ornamental wood lacks the capacity for the growth of the flower panicles, which are up to 30 centimeters long.

Causes & Measures

Frost damage

When Buddleia sprouts its leaves, the danger of belated ground frost hovers like a sword of Damocles over the bush. A single frosty night is enough to cause considerable damage to the young foliage. If only the leaf margins roll in, there is no need to worry. With this strategy, a butterfly lilac protects itself against frost and cold easterly winds. As soon as the weather adapts to the calendar, the leaf edges roll out again. On the other hand, severe or long-lasting frost leaves the young leaves no chance of survival. Typical signs of damage are strongly curled, limp, drooping and dried-up leaves. Solution to the problem is a targeted one Cut back down to healthy wood. This is how it works:

• Cut back Buddleia damaged by frost in June
• Shorten shoots with frozen leaves until they are healthy wood
• Scissor blades attach a few millimeters away from a bud or healthy leaf

With a Vitality test determine the transition from damaged to healthy wood. Scrape off some of the bark with your fingernail or the tip of a knife. If dry, brown tissue emerges, you are in the dead shoot area. Light, green fabric signals that the floral life pulsates at this point. Buddleja is endowed with a good-natured cut tolerance. If you feel compelled to cut back radically, the shrub will still sprout again willingly as long as stubs with a few buds, leaves or dormant eyes remain.

Drought stress

Summer drought stress is one of the most common causes of curled leaf blades on butterfly lilacs. Young bushes whose root system is still developing are primarily affected. If there is no rain for a long time, older specimens are also not spared from the damage. If the summer lilacs roll up their leaves in the middle of the flowering period, it would like to be watered thoroughly. This applies equally to bushes in beds and buckets. How to do it right:

• The best time is early in the morning or after sunset
• Fill the watering can with tap water
• Pull the shower head off the jug nozzle
• Pour directly onto the root disc without wetting the leaves or flowers

If small puddles form in the bed, the watering process is stopped so that no waterlogging forms. The water requirement in the bucket is covered when the first drops run out of the opening in the floor. Please avoid targeted bombardment of your buddleia with the water hose. Damp leaves do not roll up again faster, but primarily offer Diseases and pests an ideal target.

tip: Butterfly lilac (Buddleja davidii) blooms most beautifully on this year's shoots. A vigorous pruning in spring is therefore part of the compulsory maintenance program. Alternate leaf lilacs (Buddleja alternifolia) blooms on previous year's shoots and is thinned out a little from time to time.

Infestation with harmful soil fungi

If you can rule out the two most common causes with frost damage and drought stress, the focus is on the root area. Butterfly lilacs roll up leaves when diseased root strands stop working. The focus is on the Pythium root fungus. The egg fungus species is closely related to the pathogens causing dreaded diseases such as powdery mildew or black-leggedness. Fatally, Pythium is always up to mischief underground, so that you only discover an infestation with the help of sequelae, such as curled leaf edges. All important ornamental plants belong to the host plant circle, so that buddleia is not spared. The suspicion is strengthened when further symptoms are added, such as wilting, yellowed leaves and detached parts of the bark.

To date, there are no fungicides available for combating root fungi on butterfly lilacs. Conventional sprays against fungal infections do not achieve any noteworthy results. In the early stages, however, there is the option of biological control methods. The aim is sunnier, drier conditions that deprive Pythium pathogens of their livelihood. We have put together best practices in gardening for you below:

• Keep the soil and substrate a little drier
• Enrich heavy, damp earth with sand
• Cut back shady neighbors
• Relocate potted plants to a sunnier location
• Repeatedly water with field horsetail to strengthen the immune system

The specialist trade offers an organic spray for the ecologically managed home garden. Prestop from Biofa contains natural counterparts of Pythium and does not contain any chemical ingredients. Special bacteria and fungi parasitize the pathogen and prevent further growth. Reliable empirical values ​​about the effectiveness of the biopreparation are currently still being collected.

Aphids

When examining your buddleia for causes of curled leaves, a magnifying glass should be handy. Deciduous trees often roll up their leaf blades as a defense reaction against aphids. The tiny pests prefer to colonize the underside of the leaves to feast on the sap. They leave small yellow spots at the taps, which are also difficult to see with the naked eye. If you have tracked down aphids, a proven home remedy is available as a solution to the problem. This is how it works:

• First rinse the affected shrub with the strongest possible jet of water
• Protect the bed soil with foil from excessive moisture
• Pack the tub with the root ball in a plastic bag
• Heat 1 liter of water and dissolve 30-40 g of pure curd soap in it
• Ideally add a few splashes of spirit
• Pour the cooled soap solution into a hand or pressure sprayer

Spray the aphid-infested butterfly lilac every 3 days with a soap solution. Treat the tops and bottoms equally. Please only use the home remedy when no sun rays hit the shrub.

Voles

If voles roam your garden, the juicy roots of a buddleia are at the top of the menu. If you were able to reject all the causes mentioned as not applicable, the voracious rodents come into focus. Nibbled root strands transport little or no water and nutrients towards the foliage. As a result of the restricted supply, the leaves roll up. Instead of devoting yourself to weeks of control strategies, bring the root ball to safety. That is how it goes:

• Cut off the root disc with a sharp spade
• Radius corresponds to half to two thirds of the stature height
• Lift the root ball out of the ground
• Line the pit with vole wire or a vole basket
• Plant butterfly lilac again and water generously

Transplanting is an effective solution to the vole problem when the buddleia in question is five years and younger. Older shrubs, however, rarely cope with the procedure unscathed. Instead, use proven strategies to keep the pests away permanently. For example, strong smells cannot stand fine vole noses. Fumigated with smoke cartridges made of lavadin oil drives the rodents away never to be seen again. A mixture of thuja vegetable manure and castor oil is also good at deterring people. Once the pests have run away, the roots recover quickly and curled leaves on buddleia are a thing of the past.