Buddleja davidii 'Lonplum' SUGAR PLUM

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. 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!

SUGAR PLUM is another fantastic success by English breeder Peter R.Moore. It is a butterfly bush, a cross between varieties Royal Red and Summer Beauty. The result has a rich colour of the first parent, and compact habit and smaller size of the latter.

SUGAR PLUM buddleja produces about 25 cm long, pointed panicles of rich purple pink flowers which attract you with their colour intensity as well as strong and sweet perfume. Individual flowers are tiny trumpets, composed in conical panicles and bloom from early July until late September. The throat does not show much orange like most other varieties. SUGAR PLUM makes a handsome, upright, and compact shrub whose side branches are not really arching. The size is about one and a half meters (or a little more in partially sunny locations) tall, and a bit less wide. Deciduous leaves are lanceolate, medium green, and hairy as they emerge. Deadheading of spent flowers and occasional feeding will contribute to continuous production of new flowers.

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 10-07-2018