Description
Buddleja – Buddleia –
There are about 100 species of fast growing, evergreen, semi evergreen and deciduous shrubs, sometimes short lived trees and climbers and a few herbaceous perennials, in this genus. Named after seventeenth century English Botanist Adam Buddle. They occur from river sides, rocky areas, and scrub in Asia, Africa, Madagascar and North and South America. They are grown for their dense spikes or panicles of small, tubular, usually fragrant flowers in range of colors, from pink, mauve, reddish purple, oranges, and yellows. They produces large lance shaped to broadly ovate, usually opposite leaves. All except the climbers are suitable for a mixed or shrub border, or as specimens. Many are attractive to many insects, especially butterflies.
Grow these undemanding, tough plants in fertile, well drained soil in full sun. Some prefer chalky or limy soils, and are salt tolerant.
Prone to capsid bug, caterpillars, weevils, mullein moth, spider mites, fungal leaf spots, and dieback.
B. colvilei – Summer Lilac – This upright, stoutly branched deciduous or semi evergreen shrub or small tree from the Himalayas grows 20′ feet tall and wide. It produces elliptic-lance shaped, dark gray-green leaves, heavily veined, to 5″ or more long, with white woolly undersides. In late spring and early summer on previous years growth it bears tight, pendent, terminal, occasionally axillary panicles, to 8″ long, of dark pink or crimson flowers with white throats.
Zones 7-9
