Butterfly Bush

[garden_mom]

I posted this last August and never received an answer. So I'll try again.

My butterfly bush is about four or five years old, and last year it, and also my sister in law's bush of the same age, lost about three main limbs (or whatever you call them). Is this something we can expect every so often? Is it an age thing? Other than that, I only cut off dead material in the spring, or the occasional wayward new growth. It's now about 10 feet tall.

I would also like to add that I had never pruned it severely, other than the dead branches. It was around 10 feet tall, so I pruned it severely a few weeks ago. Now I'm worried. Will it come back?

[Grey]

It should come back. I'm not sure why it would be losing main branches, it could be disease, or critters. But if it is that old, pruning it back really hard won't kill it, it should bush out very nicely in a few months, next year it should look even better.

Did any of the dead wood look odd, like an infestation might have killed it?

[Jess]

It really needs to be pruned every year or other year if you want it taller.
I doubt wether there is anything wrong with it as far as the branches breaking off. They are just old.
Mine is 10 years old now and I take a saw to it every spring. Makes it grow really thick and bushy and gets to about 6/7ft tall in one season with all the flowers where I can see them!
I shouldn't worry about it coming back as long as there was growth below the point you cut it.

[garden_mom]

I liked it high and full on the top, because I planted underneath it, but last year I hardly had any blooms and only ONE butterfly. Then I read that people cut them back hard every year, so I thought I'd try, but I didn't have the heart to cut it down hard, so I only took about four feet or so. I hope it's alive, I never get any leaves until almost summer, so I won't know until then.