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. davidii – Butterfly Bush – Summer Lilac– This variable, fast growing, deciduous semi evergreen shrub from rocky river sides and chalky and limestone wasteland in Central and Western China and Japan, grows 112-18′ feet tall and 15′ feet wide. From long, arching shoots it carries lance shaped, pointed, mid green to gray green leaves, to 10″ long with woolly white undersides. From late summer to early autumn it bears dense, conical, arching panicles, 12″ or more long, of fragrant, lilac to purple flowers, often with orange or yellow eyes. This species and variants are the most commonly seen in gardens.
‘Empire Blue’ – has purple-blue flowers with an orange eyes
Zones 6-9
