Butterfly Bush
Latin Name: Buddleja sp.
Universally known as the Butterfly Bush, this shrub is very popular and requires some room to accommodate it.. For the purposes of this blog, you can assume that I am talking about Buddleja davidii, which is available in many colours and is the one species out of many that is thought of as ‘The Butterfly Bush’. It produces long growing shoots which produce long racemes of honey scented flowers from July to September. This shrub is very distinctive. Apt to become a weed, and many fine examples can be spotted on railway embankments and also high up on a roof near the Grand Theatre in Wolverhampton. They will easily double their size if placed by a sunny wall. Their leaves are always opposite, unless the species is Bubbleja alternifolia when they are alternate.
Buddleja davidii ‘White Proffusion’ You can see the growth that has been put on before the flower comes – sometimes 1.25 – 2.00 Metres.
Buddleja davidii ‘Black Knight’
This is the Buddleia species alternifolia ….
…. and this is Buddleja globosa, the Chilean Orange Ball Tree which flowers in June
…. and this is rogue Buddleja growing in a wall