 Buddleja 'Lochinch' $7.95
- common names: butterfly bush
- flowering season: summer into autumn
- height: 6 to 7 feet
- Light requirements: full sun
- Soil requirements: average
- Water requirments: needs little watering once established
- Growth habit: a shrubby bush
- How to propagate: tip cuttings in early summer
- Leaf type: 3 to 4-inch long gray-green leaves with silvery undersides
- Ways to use it such as in a pot or otherwise: does not demand any special care; will grow in partial shade, but will flower the best in more sunlight
- Special characteristics: the softly colored flowers and grayish leaves are a nice counterpoint to green foliage
- Other points of interests: this plant will easily live ten to fifteen years although it is not as long lived as some other woody plants -- eventaully you will need to replace it with a new plant
This is a hybrid of the species fallowiana and davidii, that has inherited the silvery-gray leaves of fallowiana. It grows a bit smaller than the standard butterfly bush, still reaching 6 to 7 feet tall. Its powdery blue flowers come in mid summer, with smaller clusters continuing on into late summer. To get the largest clusters possible it is best to prune it hard as new growth begins in spring. If not pruned you will have many more flowers however the flower clusters will be smaller. Buddleja offers nectar to both hummingbirds and butterflies. It grows quickly and is undemanding when planted in at least a half day of sun. A young plant needs watering its first summer. After that it usually survives well on the water Mother Nature provides. Hardy in USDA Zones 5 - 9. In colder regions, this plant acts like an herbaceous perennial, dying back to the ground and then returning in the spring. |
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