Buddleia Blues

High temperature of nearly 23 C. today, clear blue skies and a very light wind by mid afternoon.

I am concerned that one of my Buddleias is struggling to put on leaf growth. The problem probably goes back to the pruning I did in mid February. At that time the weather was mild and the unpruned Buddleia had begun to show new growth. I decided that pruning should be carried out before the emerging growth developed too far on wood that was going to be removed thus wasting energy.
My usual method of pruning is the removal of all weak and spindly growth and cutting back to about one foot from the base of last years growth. I also choose about four sturdy one year old shoots and leave them at about 5ft height to give the tree a higher shape and perhaps encourage a few earlier flowers.
A few days after pruning the weather changed and winter set-in.
The freshly pruned Buddleia was exposed to some hard frosts and ground was frozen for several days.
New growth is only now beginning to make headway. I think that some hinderance has come from insects and birds who have picked at the tender growth tips.
In know plants have a habit of catching up but I think this years flowers will be a little late. This could be beneficial for some butterflies who will be looking for nectar after the first flush of Buddleia has finished