Buddleja Summer Bird Compact Purple (Summer Bird Series)

RHS Plant Profile
butterfly bush [Summer Bird Compact Purple]

Save a plant

Where do you want to save Buddleja Summer Bird Compact Purple (Summer Bird Series)?

Plants I own
Wishlist
Go to My Plants
Plants for pollinators
Shrubs

A compact, bushy, deciduous shrub, up to 1.2m tall with lance-shaped, hairy green leaves. The panicles of scented, deep purple flowers are produced from summer through to autumn.

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Sand, Chalk, Loam, Clay

Max Height

1-1.5 metres

Max Spread

1-1.5 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
1–2 years
Max Spread
1-1.5 metres
Max Height
1-1.5 metres

Growing Conditions

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

Position

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

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

  • H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
  • H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
  • H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
  • H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
  • H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
  • H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
  • H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
  • H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
  • H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)
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
Trade

How to Grow

Cultivation

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

Propagation

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

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • Cottage and informal garden
  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Coastal
  • Gravel garden
  • Patio and container plants
  • 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