Buddleja davidii 'SANTANA'

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!

Santana is a rare variety of butterfly bush, renowned for its striking variegated foliage. In its short history it has already gained 5 names: Santana, Sultana, Sultan, Red Admiral, and Thia, tha last of which is incorrectly considered to be its patent name. The true history began in 1990 when English plantsman Rod Dransfield found a naturally mutated branch on his Royal Red butterfly bush. Consequent successful propagation confirmed stability of this colourful mutation so in 1999 he applied for a patent which came out in 2002 filed as PP12383 under the name Santana.

Santana butterfly bush makes admirable foliage which is unique in the whole buddleia family. There have been a couple of white-variegated buddlejas but none with yellow variegation of such intensity. The leaves are narrowly lance-shaped, medium green in the centre and yellow or yellow-green at margins. They are commonly deciduous, however, in the warmest parts of zone 7 and higher a large portion of leaves remain on the plant until spring when they are replaced by new ones. Individual flowers are tiny trumpets with orange throats, composed in conical, pendent panicles of rich purple red colour. They are sweetly fragrant and bloom from early July until late September. Santana grows into an airy, somewhat splayed shrub, about 2m tall and wide.

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 17-09-2016