{"title":"Buddleja (Butterfly Bushes)","description":"\u003cp\u003eLinnaeus named the genus for the Reverend Adam Buddle, an English botanist and bryologist who died in 1715 and never saw the plants that carry his name. The butterfly bushes came later, most famously \u003cem\u003eBuddleja davidii\u003c\/em\u003e out of western China, and the common name is earned honestly: a panicle in full nectar flow on a hot afternoon can carry a dozen butterflies at once, along with bees and the occasional hummingbird moth working the flowers at dusk.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe genus runs much wider than the familiar summer lilac. \u003cem\u003eBuddleja alternifolia\u003c\/em\u003e flowers on the previous year's wood and drapes like a small weeping tree; \u003cem\u003eBuddleja lindleyana\u003c\/em\u003e carries slender violet spikes on a looser, more graceful frame; \u003cem\u003eBuddleja salviifolia\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eBuddleja loricata\u003c\/em\u003e come out of southern Africa with sage-textured, felted foliage. One honest caution comes with the vigor: \u003cem\u003eBuddleja davidii\u003c\/em\u003e self-sows freely in some regions and is regulated in a few, so deadhead the spent panicles and check your own state list. The sterile and near-sterile hybrids sidestep the problem altogether.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"buddleia-davidii-attraction","title":"Buddleia davidii ‘Attraction’","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBuddleia davidii\u003c\/em\u003e 'Attraction' is a more compact butterfly bush than the usual run of the species, forming a rounded shrub of arching branches lined with gray-green leaves. From summer into fall, royal red, fragrant flowers gather in nodding panicles six to ten inches long, drawing butterflies and bees in profusion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFast and easy in full sun and well-drained, moist, fertile soil, 'Attraction' can be cut back hard in spring before new growth, since the bloom comes on the current season's wood. As with the species, deadhead the spent flowers before they set seed: this keeps the rebloom coming and keeps the self-sowing in check, which matters where the common butterfly bush is unwelcome. Native, in the species, to China.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUse 'Attraction' in a sunny border, a cottage garden, or a pollinator planting, where the deep red panicles draw butterflies through the heat of summer. Compact at four to six feet, and a strong red in a genus mostly given to purples and pinks.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057818636403,"sku":"BUDD-DAVI-ATTR-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/0D0AA9F4-DA1B-4E53-B86F-DB6F7570DF21.jpg?v=1772026729"},{"product_id":"buddleia-alternifolia","title":"Buddleia alternifolia","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBuddleia alternifolia\u003c\/em\u003e, the fountain or alternate-leaf butterfly bush, stands apart from the usual butterfly-bush crowd. A deciduous shrub native to northwestern China, the fountain butterfly bush is the most cold-hardy of the genus, and is grown above all for a weeping form and an early-season flood of fragrant, lavender-purple bloom.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn shape the shrub recalls a small weeping willow, the long, arching branches cloaked in narrow, silver-green leaves set alternately, a key difference from other butterfly bushes. In late spring and early summer the branches erupt into a waterfall of softly scented blossoms, densely packed along the previous year's wood, an elegant cascade and a magnet for butterflies and bees.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBecause the flowers come on old wood, prune right after bloom to protect the next year's display. Left unpruned, the fountain butterfly bush settles into a naturally flowing eight-to-fifteen-foot fountain, a striking specimen for a cottage garden, an informal border, or a naturalistic planting. Tough and drought-tolerant once established, and reliably hardier than the modern butterfly-bush hybrids.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057818734707,"sku":"BUDD-ALTE-01G","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/0B9E2FF4-06DE-4F18-A79F-BF748D95DA4C.jpg?v=1772275407"},{"product_id":"buddleia-lindleyana","title":"Buddleia lindleyana","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBuddleia lindleyana\u003c\/em\u003e, Lindley's butterfly bush, is the elegant outlier of the genus, an open, arching shrub from China hung in summer with long, slender, gracefully curved racemes of purple-violet flowers. Where most butterfly bushes carry stiff cone-shaped panicles, this one drapes, the curving spikes nodding from the tips of the branches from June until frost.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTough and fast, Lindley's butterfly bush thrives in full sun or part shade in well-drained soil and shrugs off heat and drought. The flowers, though unscented, draw butterflies and hummingbirds all season. One caution: the shrub spreads by underground suckers and can colonize over time, so site where the roaming can be managed or where a thicket is welcome.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUse Lindley's butterfly bush at the back of a sunny border, along a fence, or in a naturalistic planting where the arching, dark-leaved form and curved violet racemes can be appreciated. Eight to ten feet, with a wilder, more graceful habit than the common butterfly bushes. Deer tend to leave the foliage alone.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057818833011,"sku":"BUDD-LIND-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-290.jpg?v=1720136691"},{"product_id":"buddleia-x-weyeriana-honeycomb","title":"Buddleia x weyeriana ‘Honeycomb’","description":"\u003cp\u003eA yellow-flowered butterfly bush, \u003cem\u003eBuddleia\u003c\/em\u003e x \u003cem\u003eweyeriana\u003c\/em\u003e 'Honeycomb' is a vigorous hybrid of \u003cem\u003eBuddleia globosa\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eBuddleia davidii\u003c\/em\u003e that the late Dr. Michael Dirr judged better than the older 'Sungold'. The plant came to Dirr from Crathes Castle Garden in Scotland, bought as the variety 'E.H. Wilson' but proving to be a very different and superior yellow butterfly bush, named 'Honeycomb' and a standout in Georgia trials, flowering as late as Thanksgiving.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe honey-scented, creamy-yellow to golden-orange flowers gather in rounded clusters, like little globes, from midsummer well into late fall, on both new and old wood, a long and generous nectar source for butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. As a hybrid, 'Honeycomb' sets little or no viable seed, a well-behaved, non-self-sowing alternative to the common butterfly bush.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlant 'Honeycomb' in a sunny border, a cottage garden, or a pollinator planting, where the unusual gold flowers and long season earn a place; the blooms are good for cutting too. Six to eight feet, fast and tough, deer-resistant, and drought-tolerant once established. Cut back in late winter to keep the shrub bushy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057818898547,"sku":"BUDD-X-WEYE-HONE-01G","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/DETA-1217.jpg?v=1720136694"},{"product_id":"buddleia-davidii-x-globosa-miss-ruby","title":"Buddleia davidii x globosa \"Miss Ruby\" PP 19,950","description":"\u003cp\u003e'Miss Ruby' is the butterfly bush that finally cracked the color barrier: a striking, near-sterile hybrid of \u003cem\u003eBuddleia davidii\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eBuddleia globosa\u003c\/em\u003e carrying racemes of bright, purplish pink, a magenta few other butterfly bushes can touch. The shrub was bred by Dr. Dennis Werner at the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, North Carolina, the source of our cuttings.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA relatively new introduction, 'Miss Ruby' won first place in the Royal Horticultural Society's 2008 butterfly-bush trials and has been a favorite since. Compact and free-flowering, fragrant, and drawing butterflies and hummingbirds all season, the shrub sets almost no viable seed, so the magenta show comes without the self-sowing of the old kinds. Plant in full sun in well-drained, fertile soil.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUse 'Miss Ruby' in a sunny border, a cottage garden, or a pollinator planting, where the hot magenta reads against silver and green. Cut the shrub back hard in spring once new growth shows, and the flowers return on the current season's wood by summer. Four to six feet, and one of the most colorful butterfly bushes going.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057818964083,"sku":"BUDD-DAVI-MISS-RUBY-01G","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/13D11DDA-0B97-4E9A-B090-D50EB7C24DA5.jpg?v=1727143282"},{"product_id":"buddleia-davidii-x-fallowiana-lochinch","title":"Buddleia davidii x fallowiana 'Lochinch'","description":"\u003cp\u003e'Lochinch' is one of the most refined of the butterfly bushes, a cross of \u003cem\u003eBuddleia davidii\u003c\/em\u003e and the silvery \u003cem\u003eBuddleia fallowiana\u003c\/em\u003e that takes the best of both: dense, fragrant panicles of soft lavender-blue, each tiny flower lit by a small orange eye, over handsome gray-green, almost silver foliage. Compact and rounded, the shrub blooms all summer into fall on the new growth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEasy and tough, 'Lochinch' wants full sun and well-drained soil, takes heat and drought in stride once established, and draws butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds the length of the season. Deer tend to pass the gray foliage by. Deadhead spent panicles to keep the bloom coming and to limit self-sowing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUse 'Lochinch' in a sunny border, a cottage garden, or a pollinator planting, where the silvery leaves and lavender-blue flowers cool a hot summer scheme. Cut the shrub back hard in early spring before new growth, since the flowers come on the current season's wood. Five to seven feet, fragrant, and reliably floriferous.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057818996851,"sku":"BUDD-DAVI-FALL-LOCH-01G","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/9E08DEB6-2752-4A0F-A693-D65CF078CCB3.jpg?v=1724938156"},{"product_id":"buddleia-cordata-ssp-tomentella","title":"Buddleia cordata ssp. tomentella","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBuddleia cordata\u003c\/em\u003e ssp. \u003cem\u003etomentella\u003c\/em\u003e is a striking, large evergreen shrub with broad, somewhat heart-shaped leaves in soft gray-green, the lighter undersides flashing in every breeze. First collected by Yucca-Do Nursery near Los Lerios in Coahuila, Mexico, the plant was originally offered by Woodlanders as Buddleia sp. 'Los Lerios', and the true identity was later confirmed by Dr. Jon Lindstrom of the University of Arkansas, a longtime customer and plantsman of note.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRemarkably hardy for a Mexican evergreen, reliable in zone 8, this robust shrub thrives in a sunny site with well-drained soil. In summer, dense terminal clusters of tiny greenish to creamy-white flowers gather at the branch tips, an unusual but quietly handsome display. In form and effect, Dr. Lindstrom notes, the shrub can resemble a sumac, lending a soft, architectural presence to the garden.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs a specimen or part of a mixed border, Buddleia cordata ssp. tomentella offers year-round gray-green foliage, summer bloom for pollinators, and a fascinating backstory, a plant for the collector and the adventurous gardener. Drought-tolerant once established.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057819062387,"sku":"BUDD-CORD-SSP-TOME-01G","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/Buddleiacordatassp.tomentellaWoodlanders1.jpg?v=1755116341"},{"product_id":"buddleia-madagascariensis","title":"Buddleja madagascariensis","description":"\u003cp\u003eEndemic to the mountain scrub of Madagascar, where the plant scrambles along slopes between two and six thousand feet, \u003cem\u003eBuddleja madagascariensis\u003c\/em\u003e throws out long arching canes that will climb to ten feet given a wall to lean on. The flowers come in late winter and spring on terminal panicles up to ten inches long, opening deep yellow and aging through orange to soft pink along the same spike, all of it carrying a honeyed fragrance strong enough to scent a courtyard. The leaves are narrowly ovate, dark green above, silvery and felted beneath, so the whole shrub seems to flicker when wind moves through the canes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA plant of the subtropics.\u003c\/strong\u003e Hardy in USDA zones 9 and 10, where the shrub grows as a substantial evergreen, and reliably killed by frost below the high twenties. In zone 8 the plant can be sited against a south-facing wall and treated as a winter-dieback shrub, returning from the root each spring to flower on new wood. Elsewhere the Madagascar butterfly bush belongs in a cool conservatory or a generous greenhouse, where gardeners have grown the plant that way in English collections for over a century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWorth saying plainly: this species naturalizes aggressively in frost-free climates and is listed as invasive in Hawaii, parts of Florida, coastal Australia, and several other warm regions. We \u003cstrong\u003edo not\u003c\/strong\u003e ship to states where the plant is a documented problem. In its proper place, this is a beautiful and historically beloved garden shrub. In the wrong place, the canes form a thicket. Plant with that in mind.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057819127923,"sku":"BUDD-MADA-01G","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/IMG-1337.webp?v=1778101435"},{"product_id":"buddleia-loricata","title":"Buddleia loricata","description":"\u003cp\u003eBuddleia loricata, the mountain sagewood, is a rugged evergreen from the high Drakensberg of South Africa and Lesotho, and one of the hardiest of all the butterfly bushes. Unlike the familiar deciduous buddlejas, this species holds narrow, crinkled, sage-like leaves the year round, dark green above and felted silvery white beneath. The species epithet loricata means clad in mail or armored, a nod to that tough, quilted foliage, while the genus honors the English clergyman-botanist Adam Buddle.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the warm months the shrub carries dense terminal heads of small, sweetly honey-scented flowers, creamy white to pale yellow and often lit with an orange eye. Butterflies and bees work the fragrant clusters as they do on the common buddlejas, but here the show comes on an evergreen, mountain-tough plant rather than a rangy summer one. In the wild, mountain sagewood grows among rocks and in sheltered, moist gullies high on the slopes, well above six thousand feet.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat alpine origin gives the mountain sagewood an unusual toughness, shrugging off frost and cold that would cut down more tender kin, and standing among the most cold-hardy buddlejas in cultivation. Give the shrub full sun and well-drained soil, where the plant asks little once established and holds a neat, bushy form on non-invasive roots. Little known and still largely untested in American gardens, this is a plant for the curious grower and the collector.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSet Buddleia loricata where the fragrance and the pollinators can be enjoyed, in a sunny border, a rock garden, a low hedge, or a butterfly planting. The evergreen, silver-backed foliage earns a place even out of bloom, and the sweet summer flower heads bring in the winged traffic buddlejas are loved for. For a fragrant, frost-hardy, evergreen alternative to the usual butterfly bush, the mountain sagewood is a quietly rewarding choice.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057819193459,"sku":"BUDD-LORI-01G","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/buddleja-loricataJohnGrimshaw.jpg?v=1784298596"},{"product_id":"buddleia-salvifolia","title":"Buddleja salviifolia","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBuddleja salviifolia\u003c\/em\u003e, the sage-leaf butterfly bush, is a medium to large evergreen shrub from the sun-soaked hillsides of South Africa, and despite the exotic origin the plant has proven remarkably hardy in southeastern gardens, coming through winters at the University of Georgia's Athens trials with quiet resilience.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn late spring and early summer the shrub carries airy clusters of pale lavender flowers, soft in tone and lightly fragrant. But the real draw is the foliage: long, sage-like leaves, softly textured and silvered beneath, a rare and quiet kind of beauty. As Dr. Michael Dirr once noted, \"All visitors to our trials have become enamored with the foliage.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSage-leaf butterfly bush also has a long life in South African folk medicine, an herbal tea and remedy in the home gardens of its native range. Grown here for the silvered foliage and the lavender bloom, the plant wants a sunny spot with well-drained soil and room to take its natural, upright, architectural form: a fine specimen, a texture contrast in a dry or Mediterranean-style garden, or a backbone for a wildlife planting.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePhotos courtesy of Julian Sutton and John Wursten.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Woodlanders","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42057819226227,"sku":"BUDD-SALV-01G","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0605\/7505\/5987\/files\/buddleja-salviifolia-1AndrewLargeWoodlanders2.jpg?v=1747576534"}],"url":"https:\/\/woodlanders.net\/collections\/buddleja.oembed","provider":"Woodlanders","version":"1.0","type":"link"}