Buddleia

[Denise]

That photo is great Susie. Are they easy to grow?

I might meet up with you Jack I'm planning a trip at around that time too. Would be nice to meet you too Susie and you can show me your Hairstreaks.

Denise

[Susie]

It would be good if we could all meet up at Southwater this year to see the Purple Emperors and other butterflies there.

The end of June/beginning of July will be too early to see the brown hairstreaks flying but if you would like to make another trip up a month later you are very welcome to visit.

P.S. I have heard all about you Jack!


The buddleia silver anniversary is very easy to grow, I just plonked it in a hole and away it goes. It is supposed to keep it's compact form and not get too big or leggy either. As to where one can be bought, they sell them at my local nursery and still have them in stock now but I don't know where else they can be bought.

Edit: Here is a link to a site re: silver anniversary

http://www.gardeningexpress.co.uk/Produ ... ctID=15347


http://www.bredbypetermoore.co.uk/plant ... ersary.htm


If anyone is interested in buddleia flower power they are selling it half price in the J Parker catalogue at the moment.

[Susie]

And I have another buddleia to add to the collection, this is Buddleia Fallowiana. It is supposed to be the most sweetly scented of all the buddleias and was recommended by one of my local garden centres as being good for butterflies.

[Piers]

That's a superb choice Susie, a little more refined than all those davidii

I live in a proper frost pocket so I have always assumed that the late frosts would knock it out if I planted one (I don't believe that Fallowiana are fully hardy, but I may be wrong) so I would be very interested to hear how you get on. Post some pics when it flowers.
All the best,

Felix.

[Susie]

Thanks, Felix.

We get quite a lot of frost here, certainly the winters are far colder than when I used to live in London and this past winter was exceptional. I lost quite a few plants last year so am going to look after this one come next winter.

The chap at the garden centre said it should easily withstand our winters here but I looked up online and, as you rightly say above, it can be tender so I will mulch it well and also probably wrap it in some fleece too. Apparently it can die right down to the ground and, as long as the roots are protected, it will shoot up again next year.

I'll post some flowers once they are out. Apparently this flowers a bit later than the Davidii and doesn't finish until October which will be nice if we have an indian summer.

[Susie]

And I have another buddleia to add to the collection, this is Buddleia Fallowiana. It is supposed to be the most sweetly scented of all the buddleias and was recommended by one of my local garden centres as being good for butterflies.

So far this looks very pretty and has loads of blooms but not had a sniff of interest from a butterfly. It is a complete fayle.

[Gruditch]

This was my buddliea yesterday.

Gruditch

[Susie]

Fab, that's great, Grudditch! Those are amazingly long panicles of flower too. Any idea what type of buddleia it is?


On a smaller scale I had similar success with my white buddleia yesterday but not as good as yours.

[Gruditch]

Any idea what type of buddleia it is?

No idea, the big regular one that everyone has. In total we had about 30-40 butterflies on it yesterday.

Not seen a buddleia so busy, since I was a kid.

Gruditch

[Susie]

I am starting to form the opinion that the old fashioned buddleia of bombsites and railway lines is one of the best.

[Matsukaze]

Only if it is in small quantities...I was searching 60ha of the stuff today (in a derelict quarry). Very few butterflies to be seen. Probably there is so much nectar available that the butterflies get spread very thinly across it.

Isolated buddleia in woodland, on the other hand, is a real draw, attracting the usual vanessids and whites, but also silver-washed fritillaries.

[Eris]

I have the following Buddleia
1 yellow, no idea exactly what sort.
2 which I think are Black Knight
1 White one with silvery leaves and really big flower heads This does seem the most popular with the red admirals.
1 Dartmoor which is again has big flower heads and is very fragrant.this does get a lot of butterfly attention. I bought this one a few years ago when I noticed one at Wisley Gardens covered in butterflies. It is now about 12ft high so rather vigorous.
and
1 Globosa, which flowers around a month earlier than the others, and needs cutting hard back after flowering or it quickly develops into a tree not a bush. It was hard pruned last week and is already sprouting new growth.

All seem attractive depending on when they get the sun, but I think the taller ones seem the favourites. I do make sure I prune some of them to ensure a longer flowering season.

[Dave McCormick]

Anyone know which type of buddliah this is? It attracts LOADS this time of year and grows pretty big flowers and it grows tall too and has a strong sweet smell:

[Susie]

Could be White Profusion?

[Dave McCormick]

Could be White Profusion?

Hi Susie, looks likt it could be that, thanks for help

[Susie]

You're welcome, Dave. I only mentioned that one because it is the white one I grow here and it is proving very popular with the butterflies. It is also very vigorous.

[Jack Harrison]

I have often had the impression that the white varieties are the most favoured by butterflies.

However: they need a lot of space and not all gardens are big enough. But the feature I like least is when the flowers fade, they become just brown and unappealing. This is no different from the brown with purple buddleias, but the contrast in colour with purple flowers is less irritating; buddleia with white flowers and brown ex-flowers just grates.

A parallel colour clash occurs with hypericums. I grow hypericums because they thrive in dry shade and require almost no maintenance. But my wife hates the scruffy appearance of faded flowers. Mind you, the berries that come a little later in various shades of pink, red and black do meet with her approval

Jack

[Dave McCormick]

You're welcome, Dave. I only mentioned that one because it is the white one I grow here and it is proving very popular with the butterflies. It is also very vigorous.

I have a very similar one in my garden, but its purple and not white, smells the same though, the much darker purple, smaller headed one I have in other side of garden attracts more as it smells very strong, unlike the bigger one that only attracts white butterflies in day and silver y moths at night.

[Susie]

Royal Red is very close to White Profusion and the butterflies loved it until the white came into bloom, but once it did they all seemed to go straight to the white and ignore the red.

[Thithili]

hi everyone , i am not gardener or anything lol but i hack my Buddleia's back after they have totally finished flowering and leave them.
i have found that if i wait a week between doing each Buddliea in the next summer one will be in full flower and then when thats finished the next one will start to flower
I also dead head any flowers that have gone brown as it seems to keep the rest flowering for a little longer . i have 8 Buddliea's in one average sized garden .
one white, 3 dark purple, 2 hot pink ones , 1 really dark knight purple one and 1 orange one that flowers very early spring . and the last one i will know what colour it is nect summer as its self seeded its self and has no flowers yet .. so at the moment my garden looks like it could fly off with the amount of butterflies i have come
on a sunny day like today all i want to do is sit and watch them all day