Buddleja davidii 'ElstB1' MAGDA'S GOLD KNIGHT buddleja, butterfly bush
Buddleja
Buddleja is better known as butterfly bush. The reason is obvious – from early summer when it starts blooming until early autumn it produces large, scented flowers that attract winged insects, mostly butterflies. Old varieties are commonly large shrubs, however, more and more modern plants are bred for smaller and compact growth. Natural mutation is a botanical term describing a spontaneously occurring change of original characteristics of a plant. Such mutations are often sought after by plant inventors because they are usually steady. One of them is a yellow or white variegation of leaves which in case of butterfly bush is quite unusual. Therefore, one might say that Jam Verdaasdonk who found it seems to have won the jackpot!MAGDA’S GOLD KNIGHT is a natural mutation of Black Knight butterfly bush offering the same deep indigo violet blue flowers and yellow to chartreuse variegated foliage. The conical inflorescence is rather slim, 20-25 cm long, and composed of thin, funnel-shaped flowers with orange throat. They are strongly and sweetly fragrant and bloom from early July until autumn if you regularly deadhead spent flowers. Deciduous leaves are broadly elliptic, partly hairy. MAGDA’S BLACK KNIGHT is a fast growing bush with arching branches and somewhat loose habit.
Butterfly bush requires little care. Still, we strongly recommend hard pruning every spring to low permanent framework when buds begin to swell. Plant it in full sun, in well-drained humus-rich soil. It will die in boggy soil after winter. Though hardy to -29°C (USDA zone 5) it performs better in warmer zones. We suggest buying older plants with woody framework for planting in colder areas.
Last update 13-07-2020
