I’m a novice gardener. I planted some butterfly bushes last summer, which bloomed beautifully, but I just left them after the frost. I’ve been reading that I should have cut them down to the ground in the early winter. Is it too late to do it now? Should I wait until spring? Also have the same issue with some bee balm I planted. thanks!
don’t know about bee balm, but unless your under a lot of snow cut back should be ok. bushes are pretty hardy
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go ahead and cut them. Make sure the cut is clean though.
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They look kind of interesting in winter with their silver dead leaves so I usually leave mine for “winter interest”. Also, if you wait till they start to sprout in sprint you can judge how lively they are and how far you want to cut them back — plant books say 10 inches but some folks cut them very little and get lots of blooms on bigger bushes.
As for bee balm (monarda), it makes no difference. The stuff is as tough as a rock.
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