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When looked after a Buddleia bush can look stunning and brighten any garden through the hot summer months. They also have a beautiful perfume that attracts multiple species of moths, butterflies and bees.
The official name for the buddleia is 'Buddleia Davidii' but most people refer to it as the 'butterfly bush' because it attracts so many butterflies to it's lance shaped clusters of flowers. The plant is available in shades of white, yellow, pink, mauve, red and dark purple, as well as various sizes.
The buddleia has been known to grow as high as 10 feet and can also grow to an equivalent width. They are a great choice for those who want to add colour, take up space, or want to attract wildlife to their garden. They are best situated towards the middle back of a border.
Some people consider buddleias to be a weed as they seem to pop up everywhere once one has become established. This makes them a great choice for many novice gardeners as they can withstand a variety of conditions.
Buddleia produce hundreds of seeds that enable the plant to spread far and wide. They can start growing in gaps in paving, roads and brickwork. If you are going to plant buddleia, you should be responsible by trying to control their ability to spread by removing the spent flower heads so they don't produce seeds.
The buddleia is a perennial, semi-evergreen plant, meaning once it has flowered, it only loses its foliage for a short period of time. However, since I have been growing buddleia, the winters in the South and East of England, especially in Suffolk have been very mild, so my buddleias have stayed green all year around.
The plant when cut back in spring will put all it's efforts into growing, which means it flowers later in the year, usually from July through to the end of September. Cutting off spent flower heads will encourage more flower growth. As they are such a fast growing plant, it makes them the perfect choice if you want to fill up an empty space.
As with most late flowering plants, they tend to need a long season to reach their full potential, planting them in Spring or Autumn gives them enough time to grow to a substantial height and produce a beautiful display of flowers.
Anyone should be able to grow a buddleia. They like space with loose, well-drained soil, they don't require any fertilisers but adding a bit of compost when you first plant them will help them while they put all their energy into root growth.
Once you've planted your buddleia, water it well and continue to water while the plant grows. But, do not over soak the soil once the buddleia is fully grown, water it sparingly or when you notice the leaves looking a little bit droopy. Too much watering can kill the plant. Usually when leaves turn yellow you know the plant is stressed, unfortunately this can be caused by too much or too little water.
When to prune buddleia
Do not prune your buddleia if you want a wild looking garden, but do remove the spent flower heads to prevent the seeds spreading everywhere.
However, if it's the beautiful displays of flowers and a tidy bush you are after, then the plant will need space to breath. Cutting out some branches to prevent over crowding and cutting off spent flowers will encourage new flowers to grow.
The butterfly bush can grow to over 10 feet tall and nearly as wide. Most gardeners will prune a buddleia once a year, ideally in early spring once there is no chance of frost. Depending on where you live in the UK, this can be up to March or as late as May.
There are various options that work well. Some gardeners prefer to cut their bush back down close to the ground, leaving around a foot of growth. Others prefer to cut the taller bushes to waist height, and the medium bushes to knee height. At any time during a buddleias life, if it starts to look bedraggled or leggy, cut it all the way back to near ground level in Spring and it will come back even stronger than before.
You can find Buddleia in most garden centres and online. If your neighbour has one you could ask if you could take a cutting, you never know it could be a great opening to having a cupper over the garden fence while sharing gardening stories, tips and cuttings - what better way to get to know your neighbours.
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