Buddleia Empire Blue - Butterfly Bush

Buddleia davidii 'Empire Blue' is an elegant variety of butterfly bush: with a beautiful slender and flexible habit, dressed in green foliage doubled with grey-green felt, it is adorned from the heart of summer to the beginning of autumn with long slender panicles of bright blue-violet animated by the incessant flight of butterflies that come to feed on nectar in the small orange eye of each flower. Its cultivation poses no difficulty in ordinary soil, even mediocre and occasionally dry soil. The majestic Buddleias, often placed in the background, make a stunning centrepiece in large shrub borders and flowering hedges.

Buddleia davidii 'Empire Blue' is a deciduous to semi-evergreen shrub belonging to the family of buddlejaceae. This excellent American cultivar, introduced in 1942 by Good & Reese nursery (Ohio), is derived among others from the David's Buddleia, also called Father David's Buddleia or Changing Buddleia, a robust Chinese species that has become invasive. 'Empire Blue', always widely planted in gardens, received the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society in 1993.

The bush has an open and slightly spreading habit, supported by arching branches, and will reach an average height of 3 m (9.8 ft) with a spread of 2 m (6.6 ft) within 5 or 6 years, depending on the growing conditions. It blooms from July to September to produce an abundance of 15 to 20 cm (7.9 in) long dense flower panicles. These flowers are blue-violet with an orange eye and release a sweet fragrance, very attractive to pollinators. The ornamental foliage of this butterfly tree consists of long leaves of a fairly dark green, with a more greyish underside. The leaves, 15 to 20 cm (7.9 in) long, are pointed and lanceolate. This very hardy shrub is resistant to urban pollution, adapts to poor soils, and does not suffer from occasional drought when planted in deep soil.

Whether planted individually or in groups, in a hedge, at the corner of a terrace, or at the back of a perennial border, Buddleia davidii 'Empire Blue' will enhance the garden in a unique way. Its inflorescences, visited by colourful butterflies, are a spectacle in themselves. They also highlight the pink or red flowers of repeat-flowering roses, the pink panicles of Sipree billardii, or the red, pink, or purple plumes of certain summer lilacs. You can also plant it in a mixed hedge, with botanical roses, serviceberries, hawthorns, ornamental apple trees, or other prunus. It adapts well to coastal areas and can be grown in containers on the terrace. Its fragrant flowers are also very attractive in bouquets. You can also plant this buddleia with vibrant yellow evening primroses and tall grasses (Miscanthus, Panicum, Deschampsia) for an elegant contrast.