Buddleja officinalis

RHS Plant Profile
pale butterfly bush

Save a plant

Where do you want to save Buddleja officinalis?

Plants I own
Wishlist
Go to My Plants
pale butterfly bush RHS
Award of Garden Merit
Conservatory Greenhouse Shrubs
Buy this from Plant Nurseries
1 Suppliers

Semi-evergreen to evergreen shrub about 2.5m tall, with dark green leaves, strongly felted grey-white beneath. Pale mauve-pink, yellow-eyed, strongly fragrant flowers produced in arching panicles, through winter into early spring.

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Chalk, Loam, Sand

Max Height

2.5-4 metres

Max Spread

2.5-4 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
2–5 years
Max Spread
2.5-4 metres
Max Height
2.5-4 metres

Growing Conditions

Chalk Loam Sand
Moisture
Well–drained
pH
Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun
Aspect
West–facing or South–facing
Exposure
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)
H3
Drought Resistance
Yes

Colour & Scent

Fragrance Flower
Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Scrophulariaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
No
Foliage
Semi evergreen
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
Correct
Plant Range
W China

How to Grow

Cultivation

Needs full sun, well-drained soil and a frost-fee location. Ideal for a large conservatory or greenhouse. Can be grown on a warm, sheltered wall in particularly mild locations. See buddleja cultivation for more detailed advice

Propagation

Root semi-ripe cuttings in summer

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Coastal
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Mediterranean climate plants
  • Sub-tropical
  • Conservatory and greenhouse
  • Wall side borders

Pruning

Prune back to a framework in spring; pruning group 6

Pests

Susceptible to capsid bug, caterpillars, figwort weevil, mullein moth and glasshouse red spider mite

Diseases

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