Neighbouring tree cut down, need some ideas to replace

meanwhileinhell

Hi all,

A neighbour has cut down a butterfly bush that reached over the top of our wall and draped into our yard, which we loved (picture below).  However, they have as of today cut the entire thing down.  So I was wondering if anyone had any ideas of something we could replace it with to give some height and be as close to what we had before as possible.  I know obviously that we will not be able to fully emulate what we had.  Our yard is paved most of the way and when decked all along this wall, so we have no access to earth unless its in some sort of container, or creeper.

Thanks!

Dave Humby

That's a shame but I guess it was their tree so that's their call. Have you asked them if they have any plans to replace it? They might save you a job. 

I'll leave recommendations to a replacement to the experienced forum folk but are you looking for height or spread, or colour, or wildlife attraction? or something else?

meanwhileinhell

Oh yeah, we knew that it was going to come down, they are developing the area on the other side of the wall.  We would be looking for ideally height and spread, but that may be wishful thinking given our lack of direct earth access.  It used to attract a lot of bees which we liked, but have introduced a lot of other plants into our yard that attracts them, so I guess this isn't a huge consideration.  Colour isn't really important either, just anything to make the yard feel a little like it was.

I guess some sort of trellis or something along the top with a creeper or something draping over.

Thanks.

Last edited: 02 August 2017 10:11:13

meanwhileinhell

Would something like be workable, with a container along the entire base of the wall, and trellis up the wall, with extra on top of the wall?

Fairygirl

Why not plant a buddleia yourself ?  

They're happy enough in a container as long as it's big enough. They thrive on neglect, so thye're much easier than a lot of other container plants.  

They need cut back in spring so that you get the best from them as they flower on the new growth. 

pansyface

BUDDLEIAS REALLY DON'T NEED MUCH....

josusa47

If they've only cut down the buddleia and not killed or removed the stump, it will be as big again in a couple of years.

Obelixx

I agree.   Plant your own buddleia.  They come in a variety of colours including ones with variegated foliage now and there's even one called Buzz for patio pots.

meanwhileinhell

Thanks for all the replies!

I'm unsure what they have left, but I'm pretty sure they have left the stump.  If they removed it I'm fairly sure it'll take part of our wall and the adjoining wall with it.  Our problem is that we were hoping to put our house on the market in the coming weeks, and the old tree gave the yard extra character, privacy and beauty.  We've spent quite a lot of time on the yard in recent weeks and now it feels quite bare.

I'm not sure we would have the space on the decking for quite such a large bush, but this is something I will definitely look into.  If I could get it to grow up and not out then that would be perfect.

ClaireV

How about a wooden trough with built-in trellis? You can stand it against the wall. I saw this one at https://www.wonkeedonkeeforestgarden.co.uk/forest-fptlhd-toulouse-planter-hd.html. It's about 4ft 5in tall, so should be enough to support a buddleia in the early stages, or perhaps a climbing plant like a clematis. They've got a bigger trough too, but with a lower trellis. Maybe you could attach an extra piece of trellis as the plant grows?

meanwhileinhell

Hi Claire, yeah that looks great, I've actually been looking into building one of these myself.  But this is exactly what I had in mind! Thank you!