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Buddleja fallowiana Balf. f. & W.W. Sm.

Chinese butterfly bush

Deciduous shrub about 2m tall, with arching, grey-white woolly stems and leaves, and bearing very fragrant pale lavender-blue flowers with orange eyes, in large panicles, from summer to early autumn

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Size
Ultimate height
1.5–2.5 metres
Time to ultimate height
2–5 years
Ultimate spread
2.5–4 metres
Growing conditions
Chalk
Loam
Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained, Well–drained
pH
Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
Colour & scent
StemFlowerFoliageFruit
Spring Grey Silver White Grey Silver White
Summer Grey Silver White Purple Blue Grey Silver White
Autumn Grey Silver White Purple Blue Grey Silver White
Winter
Position
  • Full sun
Aspect

South–facing or West–facing or East–facing

Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness
H5
Botanical details
Family
Scrophulariaceae
Native to GB / Ireland
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

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in well-drained soil in full sun in a sheltered position out of cold winds. See buddleja cultivation for more detailed advice

Propagation

Propagate by semi-ripe cuttings in summer, or by hardwood cuttings in autumn

Suggested planting locations and garden types
  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Coastal
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Gravel garden
  • Wildlife gardens
  • Flower borders and beds
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

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