Buddleia - Butterfly Bush, Orange Ball Tree, South African Sage Wood, Weeping Willow Buddleia
(Buddlei'a)
DESCRIPTION: This group consists of about one hundred evergreen and deciduous, hardy and tender, flowering shrubs. They are originally from Asia, South Africa, North and South America. They are excellent plants for the garden and most blossom from mid-summer to early autumn. Their beauty is best seen when grown in a shrub or mixed border, rather than by themselves. Buddleias, commonly known as Butterfly Bushes, are valued mainly for their clusters of beautiful, fragrant, tubular-shaped flowers. The nectar-rich blossoms attract butterflies and day-flying moths from all over. B. davidii is a hardy, deciduous shrub that is rather weedy and reseeds itself freely, but its hybrids are excellent medium-sized bushes. Their lanceolate leaves are 10 to 12 inches long and white or grayish underneath. The honey-scented flowers are deep purple and grow in spikes, from July to October. This plant and its hybrids attracts butterflies and bees greatly and it is a valuable shrub for town and suburban gardens and for seaside planting. They can be pruned hard in early spring. B. davidii var. White Bouquet is a hardy kind with large panicles of fragrant, snow white flowers with yellow centers. B. colvilei 'Kewensis' is a large, vigorous-growing, deciduous shrub for mild climates. Although this variety is tender when young, older plants have survived freezing temperatures. This shrub produces pendant panicles of large, red flowers, in early summer. B. globosa (Orange Ball Tree or Globe Butterfly Bush) is a tender, evergreen kind that has lance-shaped, glossy green leaves. In early summer, it bears round, orange-yellow flower clusters.
POTTING - Outdoors: Buddleias that are able to grow outdoors can be planted in regular garden soil that has had manure dug deeply into it. Soil that is rich, deep and loamy will produce vigorous plants that flower abundantly. Planting may be done in the spring or fall. It is very important to prune your plants correctly. Those, which flower in late summer and fall (such as the varieties of B. Davidii), should be pruned hard each spring; the shoots of the previous year's growth are cut back to within 2 or 3 inches of the older wood. If you want them to grow more quickly, then keep the new shoots 6 to 9 inches long, but cut out all the thin, weak twigs. In harsh climates, the shoots may be killed to the ground in the winter, but as long as the roots survive, new shoots that bloom will be produced the next summer. B. alternifolia, B. globosa and B. Colvillei all bloom on the year-old wood, therefore, they shouldn't be pruned until the flowers have died. Since this isn't until June, only a little thinning out of the old branches is possible at this late date. Particularly long shoots can be shortened, though. In 5 or more years, if they become spindly looking, they may be pruned back hard in early April; one flowering season will be lost, but vigorous, new shoots will develop.
Greenhouse: Tender varieties can be grown in a greenhouse where climates do not permit outdoor cultivation. Buddleias can be kept growing for several years, but it's usually easier to start each season with new ones. They should be potted in 2 parts of good loam (topsoil), 1 part of peat moss or leaf mold, 1 part of coarse sand, a half part of dried cow manure, and bone meal (added at a rate of 1 pint to each bushel of the soil mixture). When they are established in their pots, the ends of the shoots should be pinched once in a while to encourage bushy growth. The last time to pinch should be early September. Stake and tie the plants neatly and water abundantly from the time of their propagation until they are through flowering. Fertilize them often throughout their growing season. They can be set outdoors in a sunny spot in the summer, but make sure to bring them in before it frosts. They should be cut back lightly after they've flowered if they are to be kept for more than a year. Water moderately until March and keep in a cool, airy greenhouse. They should then be pruned to shape, repotted or top-dressed, and watered and sprayed to encourage new growth.
PROPAGATION - Outdoors: Seeds can be sown thinly in February or March in pots or pans of sandy soil and placed in a greenhouse that has a 50º F temperature. Seedlings of B. Davidii that are raised in a heated greenhouse will flower within 7 or 8 months. Named varieties must be increased by cuttings. Cuttings that are made from half-ripe or semi-woody side shoots, 5 or 6 inches long, can be inserted in a closed cold frame, or outside under a hand light in July or early August. Cuttings that are made from the mature shoots of the year, 12-18 inches long, are taken off with a thin "heel" of the old wood at the base and inserted in a sheltered border outside or in a frame in late September or October.
Greenhouse: Cuttings of young shoots, 3 to 4 inches long, are taken as soon as the plants are through flowering. They are cut off just below a joint or node with a sharp knife. Remove their lower leaves and place them in a propagating case filled with sand or vermiculite. They should be shaded from direct sun and protected from drafts. When their roots are 1 to 2 inches long, they can be potted separately in 2½- or 3-inch pots that are filled with sandy soil. Keep them shaded for a few days, after which, they should receive full exposure to the sun and air. The night temperature in the greenhouse should be 45º-50º F and the daytime temperature should be 5-10 degrees more. When they are established in those pots, they are transplanted into larger pots, 4 to 5 inches in diameter. At this potting, and later on, a rich, loamy soil should be used consisting of the following ingredients: two parts of good loam, one part of peat moss or leaf mold, one part of coarse sand, one-half of a part of dried cow manure, and one pint of bone meal added to each bushel of the soil mixture. Keep repotting the plants into progressively larger containers until August or September, which should be the last potting. The final pots should be 7-10 inches in diameter for the first-year plants. Plants that are more that a year old will need larger containers. Pinch the ends of the shoots once in a while to encourage bushy growth.
VARIETIES: Hardy kinds - B. Davidii & var. Black Knight, Dartmoor, Empire Blue, Fascinating, Harlequin, Ile de France, Masquerade, nanhoensis, Nanho Blue, Nanho Purple, Peace, Royal Red, White Bouquet, White Cloud, White Profusion, Veitchiana, magnifica, Wilsonii, Flaming Violet; B. alternifolia & var. Argentea.
Tender kinds - B. asiatica; B. auriculata; B. colvilei var. Kewensis; B. crispa; B. fallowiana & var. alba; B. globosa; B. lindleyana; B. 'Lochinch'; B. 'Pink Delight'; B. salviifolia; B. weyeriana & var. Golden Glow, Sungold.
Buddleia Butterfly Hybrids
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