Buddleja davidii 'ORCHID BEAUTY'

Buddleia 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. If you are not yet aware of how many butterfly species you can get in your part of the world get one buddleia and in a few weeks you can apply for a doctor’s degree in butterflies!

Orchid Beauty is a real beauty among butterfly bushes. It produces incredibly large inflorescences which are as long as 40 cm in the first flush, and 15-20 cm long in all consequent flushes until early autumn. Individual flowers are tiny trumpets with orange throats, composed in conical panicles. They are sweetly fragrant and bloom from early July until late September. Orchid Beauty makes an upright and compact bush about 2.5m tall and wide. Deciduous leaves are large, too, lanceolate, pale green and hairy as they emerge, maturing to rich and glossy green.

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 15-09-2016