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Buddleja crispa

Himalayan butterfly bush

Deciduous shrub, around 3m in height, with oval, deeply toothed, leaves fragrant when young, and arching stems covered in dense, white felt. Racemes of fragrant, small, pale lavender-pink flowers, with a white eye, produced from mid to late summer

Synonyms
Buddleja sterniana
Buddleja tibetica

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Size
Ultimate height
2.5–4 metres
Time to ultimate height
5–10 years
Ultimate spread
2.5–4 metres
Growing conditions
Chalk
Loam
Sand
Moisture
Well–drained
pH
Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
Colour & scent
StemFlowerFoliageFruit
Spring Grey Silver Green
Summer Purple Pink Grey Silver Green
Autumn Grey Silver Green
Winter
Position
  • Full sun
Aspect

West–facing or South–facing

Exposure
Sheltered
Drought resistance
Yes
Hardiness
H4
Botanical details
Family
Scrophulariaceae
Native to the UK
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Spreading branched
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

Correct

Plant range
Himalaya

How to grow

Cultivation

Needs a sunny, sheltered spot with excellent drainage; in areas prone to winter wet, it may be best grown in containers and overwintered in a cool greenhouse. See buddleja cultivation for more detailed advice

Propagation

Propagate by semi-ripe cuttings in summer

Suggested planting locations and garden types
  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Mediterranean climate plants
  • Coastal
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Wall side borders
  • Climber and wall shrubs
Pruning

Pruning group 6. May be pruned hard back in spring as flowers on current season's growth

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

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