To transform the balcony into a summer flower paradise with lots of butterflies visiting, the butterfly bush in the pot is just the thing. Read here how to skillfully plant and care for the butterfly magnet.
How do you plant and care for butterfly lilac in a container?
To plant and care for a butterfly lilac in a pot, you need a 30-50 liter pot, sandy pot plant soil, drainage and a sunny location. Water regularly, fertilize every four weeks and cut the shrub back in spring.
Large pot and sunny location set the course
A powerful butterfly bush only meets expectations if it has enough capacity in the pot for its roots. Therefore, choose a bucket with a volume of 30 to 50 liters. Before you fill in pot plant soil enriched with sand, create a drainage system using pottery shards on the bottom of the pot.
Unpot the young plant and plant it so deeply in the soil that the previous planting depth remains unchanged. Place the pot in a sunny, wind-protected location and water until the water runs out of the bottom opening. You can water the undemanding tree with normal tap water without hesitation.
It's so easy to care for the butterfly bush in the pot
In a sunny location, planted in loose, nutrient-rich potting soil, a butterfly bush rarely requires your gardening attention. The uncomplicated care program is as follows:
- Water the root ball when the soil surface is dry
- Fertilize liquidly every 4 weeks from May to September
- Clean out wilted flowers to encourage rebloom
- Before the first frost, place the pot on wood and cover it with warming foil
- Ideally put a butterfly lilac in a pot in a frost-free winter quarters
- Repot every 1 to 2 years at the end of winter dormancy
Only cut back the butterfly bush when the danger of ground frost has passed in spring. If necessary, you can radically shorten the flowering tree, which tolerates pruning, down to 20 cm. Only when you are older do you cut the thick branches a little higher at 40 to 50 cm. Immediately after pruning, apply the first fertilizer to stimulate growth. Water generously so that the nutrients are optimally absorbed.
Tip
A warm location on the sun-drenched roof garden is also very welcome for your butterfly bush. Due to the exposed location, the focus in this case is on extensive winter protection so that fatal frost damage does not occur.
