Buddleja davidii Butterfly Candy Little Purple, Little Pink, Little Lila - Butterfly Bush

Buddleja davidii Butterfly Candy Trio brings together 3 varieties of dwarf butterfly bushes called 'Little Purple', 'Little Pink', and 'Little Lila' in the same pot. These three small shrubs bloom together during long summer weeks, mixing their beautiful floral spikes in a delightful range of deep purple, light pink, and mauve. Together, they form a wide, gently scented bush where bees and butterflies gather. Hardy, easy to grow, and undemanding, the dwarf butterfly bush fits perfectly in small gardens and grows well in a large pot.

The genus Buddleja comprises about 100 species of deciduous or evergreen shrubs, native to China, Africa, South Asia and South America. Belonging to the Scrophulariaceae family, Buddleja davidii Butterfly Candy is a group of hybrids recently selected in the Netherlands by Botanic Experience BV and Dutch breeder Van Son & Koot from Kaatsheuvel.

Butterfly Candy Little Buddleja is a small plant with a rounded habit that does not exceed 80cm (32in). This variety develops well-branched vegetation, with short upright branches, giving it a balanced and compact habit that does not become bare at the base. The deciduous foliage falls in winter and regrows in spring. It consists of lanceolate, slightly velvety, greyish-green leaves. The flowering lasts for 4 to 5 months, from June-July to October, depending on the region. It is composed of small tubular flowers gathered in conical panicles at the end of the branches, each measuring 10 to 15cm (4 to 6in) long. The flowers release a sweet scent reminiscent of honey, highly sought after by pollinating insects and butterflies. In the summer, after each wave of flowers, light pruning encourages the buddleja to develop new flowering shoots. This hardy shrub resists urban pollution and does not suffer from moderate drought when planted in the ground. When grown in pots, it will require regular watering and some fertiliser to support its growth and flowering.

Gardeners will find a great diversity of varieties within the Butterfly Bush category, each more interesting than the next. Buddleja davidii Butterfly Candy Trio Little, with its intense "three-in-one" flowering, delicate fragrance, and modest size, is suitable for small spaces as well as container gardening. It easily pairs with other shrubs for containers. This shrub also blends well with many colourful perennials (asters, delphiniums, echinaceas, hemerocallis, kniphofias), rose bushes for borders, medium-sized grasses, or other small flowering shrubs such as dwarf abelias, for example. It can be planted near a terrace, along a path, in a small hedge, or in a shrub border.