Family Scrophulariaceae.
Originating from South American and Asian parents, hybridised in the USA.
- Richly coloured panicles of flowers transform as they open during a long season.
- A vigorous and lush shrub with large grey-green leaves.
- Hardy and undemanding in full sun, it is rewarding to grow with blooms from a young age.
The ‘Flower Power’ Butterfly Bush in Your Garden
Profuse and dramatic, arrow-like cones of flowers are borne at the tips of its vigorous upright branches. Like a pollinator-attracting firework display, they make a sensational impact, shooting upwards and cascading outwards. Their unique, scented, purple, pink, and orange colours create a richly coloured blast from afar and offer intrigue up close.
Buddleja ‘Bicolor’ is hardy in all but the coldest, exposed UK gardens. It grows to around 4m tall and 2.5m wide in 2 – 5 years; however, it is easily kept smaller. Annual or biannual hard pruning makes it suitable for even small gardens and helps maintain a dense habit.
Adaptable to exotic or traditional gardens in Norfolk, it is equally at home in Suffolk’s coastal gravel and Mediterranean gardens. At a glance, it appears to be a pink flowering butterfly bush. But a closer look reveals the purple buds opening to rose-pink blooms with orange centres, giving them a butterscotch hue.
Did you know?
One of Buddleja x weyeriana’s parents, B. davidii, earned the nickname ‘bombsite plant’ after World War II, when it colonised the ruins of bombed, derelict buildings in London and other UK cities.
Growing Tips for Your Pink Flowering Butterfly Bush, Buddleja x weyeriana ‘Bicolor’
- Soil and sun: Well-drained, moderately fertile soil, in full sun.
- Planting: at any time of year. Never plant a dry plant! Plunge or stand in water to thoroughly drench the rootball before planting. Do not add soil improvers.
- Watering: moderate; tolerates spells of drought once established. Water young plants during their first summer season.
- Pruning: Prune hard in late winter or early spring to maintain size and encourage strong flowering shoots.
Buddleja weyeriana was bred by crossing a Chinese species, B. davidii var. Magnifica with a South American species, B. globosa. New cultivars arose from this hybridisation, some of which were cross-pollinated by Mike Dirr at the University of Georgia, USA. Your uniquely coloured, drought-tolerant, scented, butterfly heaven can grace your garden via this long development.
