Solved Four plants to identify

Slowly trying to find out what is in my garden, any help appreciated

do I also need to trim the old flowers off the first tree as some are very high



The shrub with the flower



I have 2 areas of this near pond


the red bush in picture

 

Top to bottom

Buddleja - I cut this down to about 10 inches in autumn
Rhododendron (I think)
Hosta
Acer

 

Thank you for quick replies.

can I ask on the Buddleja 10 inches sounds very drastic. I am 6 4 and I guess it is 4 foot bigger than me! The branches are over 2.5 inches thick at bottom.

 

It grows really quickly. If you want it to grow taller, leave it as is. Mine puts on about 4 to 5 feet of growth every year. I wouldn't cut it down until autumn if you plan to do so. You will get an idea of its growth at the end of summer and can decide what to do at that time.

 

@Max6389 I usually prune all of mine down to about 2ft in early March (I have 3 large ones and 2 dwarves), but this specialist buddleia website recommends pruning down even lower to knee height for younger plants (I'm just under 6ft, so your knee height is higher!). So taking the size of yours into consideration, I would reduce to around 2ft.

The Buddleja Garden - Buddleia davidii pruning

Nick