Buddleja 'Ellen's Blue'

RHS Plant Profile
butterfly bush 'Ellen's Blue'
butterfly bush 'Ellen's Blue' RHS

Synonyms

Buddleja davidii 'Ellen's Blue'

Shrubs

A compact, free-flowering shrub, to 1.5m tall and wide, with grey-green foliage held on arching branches and a profusion of dense panicles of deep violet-blue flowers from summer into autumn

Position

Full sun, Partial shade

Soil Types

Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand

Max Height

1-1.5 metres

Max Spread

1-1.5 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
5–10 years
Max Spread
1-1.5 metres
Max Height
1-1.5 metres

Growing Conditions

Chalk Clay Loam Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained or Well–drained
pH
Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun Partial shade
Aspect
South–facing or West–facing or East–facing
Exposure
Exposed or Sheltered
Hardiness
H6

Colour & Scent

Fragrance Flower
Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Scrophulariaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Bushy
Genus
Buddleja can be evergreen or deciduous shrubs, occasionally trees or scrambling climbers with simple leaves and panicles of small, tubular fragrant flowers
Name Status
Accepted

How to Grow

Cultivation

Grow in well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade. See buddleja cultivation for more detailed advice

Propagation

Propagate by semi-hardwood cuttings

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Coastal
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Patio and container plants
  • Flower borders and beds
  • Wall side borders

Pruning

Pruning group 6

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids, capsid bugs, caterpillars, earwigs, figwort weevils, glasshouse red spider mite, leaf and bud eelworm, and mullein moth

Diseases

May be susceptible to honey fungus, fungal leaf spot, and virus diseases