Buddleia

[hank]

Many Buddleias are considered invasive. Can you recommend some that are not. I want a few in my garden next year.

Thanks H.

[Dorts]

Varieties of Buddleia davidii, of which there are many, are best for attracting butterflies, they are all equaly as good and come in several colours.

The wild form, which we see along roadsides and on waste-ground, is very fertile and seeds very freely. But the varieties seem to be far less so. It's just a case of pulling any seedlings that may crop-up while doing normal weeding. Just don't let them get a hold, as they can become difficult to remove, but certainly don't be put off by their bad reputation.

There are well over 50 vars. available so it will probably be a case of getting whatever varieties are in stock. Most garden centres will have a good range of the most poular kinds such as 'Black Knight', 'Dartmoor', 'White Profusion', 'Empire Blue' and 'Royal Red' .

There are other species such as the 'weeping' B. alternifolia, or the yellow-flowered B. globosa which can form a very large shrub, and although these are perfectly 'well-behaved' when it comes to seeding around, they are far less good at attracting butterflies.
Dorts.

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by hank

Many Buddleias are considered invasive. Can you recommend some that are not. I want a few in my garden next year.

'Invasive' has somewhat diferent meanings in an ecological context compared to a garden context - as Dorts says, in a garden seedlings are easy to control, and the plants themselves are not highly prone to suckering so in the usual gardening sense of 'invasive' Buddleias are not a problem. Even B. davidii is more a nuisance rather than a serious threat to the UK environment although I would speculate that there may be some native species which are outcompeted by B. davidii in some environmental niches.

Your garden choices can be safely based on flowering time and the ascetics of shape and colour. Invertebrate attraction - butterflies, moths, bees etc tends to be erratic across any given location, late flowering species may be very useful to late flying (August/September) butterflies, but even then not every bush will attract visitors. Some birds (wren ?) are reported to feed on the seeds.

CM

[King Edward]

If you have several plants, it's worth pruning some a bit later than others, so that they flower later and prolong the season. Normally you cut these down to a height of about 1' every year just as they're starting to come into growth.

You can also grow Buddleia quite easily from cuttings, so you see a suitable specimen growing wild or in a friend's garden you could try that.

[hank]

O.K. Thanks for all the help. I'll get down to a garden centre and see if there's any earlier flowering varieties.
I need about 6 and I'd like to get a range of colours and flowering times.

H.

[Dorts]

Originally Posted by hank

O.K. Thanks for all the help. I'll get down to a garden centre and see if there's any earlier flowering varieties.
I need about 6 and I'd like to get a range of colours and flowering times.
H.

I would be inclined to wait until the spring. If we have another hard winter, why not let the garden centre take the risk of losing a plant or two.
Also you can then pick out the plants with good fresh young shoots.

But now is a good time to prepare a list of varieties that will suit.
Dorts.

[hank]

Good advice , thanks.

H.

[Hedera]

The hardiest plants are the purple ones, some of the pinks and whites don't stand the hard frosts. Another variation is B. globosa, which has orangey ball-shaped flower heads and grows tidily. Bees love it. As for pruning it's best not to cut all the leaders back to 1', leave a few longer ones in case of a late frost and you can trim them later if affected.