Gardeners urged to plant beautiful hardy flower that's 'superb for butterflies'

A common and often underrated shrub but must have in the garden, Buddleia offer beautiful flower displays and are superb for butterflies and bees. Buddleia are so hardy that they grow almost anywhere, from cracks in the pavement to railway lines.

In a spot in the garden which can cope with speedy and dominant growth, it can be a real treat for the eyes and nose. A strong smell travels across the garden and, with it, attracts butterflies and bees from all around the garden. An ideal spot for a Buddleia is just about anywhere in just about any soil. A very good spot is in well-drained soil with full sunshine in summertime.

Buddleia, like any other shrub, will benefit from healthy soil. Buddleia can easily be grown from seed but a small potted Buddleia will grow to be sizeable over about two to three years.

The key to successful Buddleia is pruning, it is having a shrub that has its height reduced by half each year so it doesn’t become too dominant. A pruning freshens the plant up and keeps the woody frame to a manageable size.

A nice size is about 1cm to 2m tall and a similar width. A prune in early springtime will tidy the shrub up, readying it for the new growth. The flowers are on new wood, which means a wooden frame can be established and pruned back to this each year to create a similar-sized display each summertime.

The Buddleia purple or white flowers will gradually reduce along the spearhead display before turning to seed. Pollinators will visit the Buddleia until the flowers have gone.

The shrub is deciduous, the leaves will brown off and will drop in autumn and winter to be replaced with new growth in early springtime. If you would like to order Buddleia please visit thompson-morgan.com and use Tom's promo code TMTAWTOM12 to get 12% off your order when you spend £20 or more.

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