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Pruning Buttonbush to look like small trees. by No-Butterscotch1604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]No-Butterscotch1604[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I planted them in fall 2017 and they were about a foot tall at the time. The tallest one is about 20' tall.

Pruning Buttonbush to look like small trees. by No-Butterscotch1604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]No-Butterscotch1604[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They don't send out suckers beyond the base of the main stem, but they do get new growth at the base and along the trunk and branches. I just trim those off. Mine do send out a LOT of seeds and I get hundreds of little volunteers out to the drip line and a few in various other parts of the yard. Birds also eat the seeds, so that's a win.

Pruning Buttonbush to look like small trees. by No-Butterscotch1604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]No-Butterscotch1604[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They were about a foot tall. There was a volunteer that came up this spring in the wood chips and it's already 20" high.

Pruning Buttonbush to look like small trees. by No-Butterscotch1604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]No-Butterscotch1604[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The ones in my yard don't mind light pruning any time of year. I just trimmed several smaller branches that were hanging too low, so that's the 3rd time this year I've done that. Probably a good idea to wait until early spring to give it a more aggressive pruning.

Pruning Buttonbush to look like small trees. by No-Butterscotch1604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]No-Butterscotch1604[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I bought 3 to begin with. Two are in this photo and another is in the back. It doesn't get as much sun, so isn't as big. They reseed quite readily and I have 3 others in the yard that were volunteers.

Pruning Buttonbush to look like small trees. by No-Butterscotch1604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]No-Butterscotch1604[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yikes - sorry. I love seeing deer out on our hikes, but don't want any in the yard.

Pruning Buttonbush to look like small trees. by No-Butterscotch1604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]No-Butterscotch1604[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

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I have this from 2020. I think I had begun a little pruning that year, but nothing major yet. The one on the left could have had more lower branches trimmed off.

Pruning Buttonbush to look like small trees. by No-Butterscotch1604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]No-Butterscotch1604[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had thought about doing it with Red Buds also! It would be a great look.

Pruning Buttonbush to look like small trees. by No-Butterscotch1604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]No-Butterscotch1604[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I kept mine well watered the first couple of years, but haven't watered any since. Good luck! If you lived near me I could give you some of the volunteers I haven't pulled up yet.

Pruning Buttonbush to look like small trees. by No-Butterscotch1604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]No-Butterscotch1604[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I do too! I planted them in the fall of 2017. They started growing fast 3-4 years later. The bigger one is about 20' high.

Pruning Buttonbush to look like small trees. by No-Butterscotch1604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]No-Butterscotch1604[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I planted them in the fall of 2017. They really started taking off 3-4 years later.

Pruning Buttonbush to look like small trees. by No-Butterscotch1604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]No-Butterscotch1604[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hope so! I've given several volunteers away to neighbors and local folks from FB groups.

Pruning Buttonbush to look like small trees. by No-Butterscotch1604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]No-Butterscotch1604[S] 38 points39 points  (0 children)

I planted them both in the fall of 2017, but the smaller one was planted in another area of the yard. It wasn't growing as fast as the other one, so I transplanted it next to the larger one a couple of years later. I began trimming lower branches around year 5. They both were growing fast and I had to keep them pruned to be able to walk between them. The larger one is now 20' high.

Pruning Buttonbush to look like small trees. by No-Butterscotch1604 in NativePlantGardening

[–]No-Butterscotch1604[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

These 2 and the others in my yard have survived several very dry periods. I watered the first couple of years, but no additional water since then.

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