Buddleja macrostachya - Butterfly Bush

Buddleja macrostachya is a rare bush in cultivation, yet very ornamental throughout the year and easy to grow, although it requires a mild climate to thrive. It is a deciduous bush with a slightly weeping habit, bearing long pointed leaves which are woolly on the underside. It produces long trailing panicles, filled with small pale pink or yellow flowers, punctuated with an orange throat. The flowers emit a sweet honey scent, which is highly attractive to bees. The flowers appear in spring or summer and sometimes last until the first frost. In winter, its branches are revealed, covered in interesting ragged grey and brown bark. Definitely worth discovering!

Buddleja macrostachya is a large-growing botanical species in the Scrophulariaceae (buddleja) family. It is native to China, Bangladesh, India, Thailand, and Vietnam. In the wild, it grows between 900 m and 3200 m (2953 ft and 10499 ft) altitude, in well-drained, preferably limestone soils. It enjoys cool to moist ground, not far from watercourses which it tends to colonise the banks of. In our climates, it will reach a size of about 3 m (9.9 ft) in all directions, with rapid growth. The bush is composed of quadrangular winged stems, with brown bark that peels with age. The foliage, deciduous in cool climates, consists of almost sessile leaves, with a narrow, pointed, crenate edge, measuring up to 25 cm to 30 cm (9.8 in to 11.8 in) long and 5 cm (2 in) wide. They are green and shiny on the upper side, lighter and hairy on the underside. Flowering usually takes place in late spring or summer and is only stopped by cold weather. Thin panicles up to 20 cm (7.9 in) long and 4 cm (1.6 in) in diameter appear at the ends of the current year's branches. They are composed of small four-petaled bi-coloured flowers, about 3 mm to 4 mm (0.1 in to 0.2 in) wide. The flowering is followed by the formation of capsules 1 cm (0.4 in) long and 2 mm (0.1 in) wide, containing numerous easily germinating seeds. In deep soil and once well established, this buddleja tolerates summer drought quite well.

Whether planted as a solitary plant or in a group, in a hedge or at the back of a perennial bed, Buddleja macrostachya is a very colourful bush that will enhance the garden or even a terrace, as it is also suited to pot cultivation. Its long flowering accompanies that of all other flowering bushes, from spring to autumn. You can also plant it in a tall, informal hedge at the edge of the garden, with other buddlejas, as there is a wide choice in this genus, starting with the winter-flowering Buddleja officinalis, the spring-flowering B. 'Lochinch', the hybrids of B. x weyeriana ('Sungold', 'Honeycomb', 'Flower Power', 'Moonlight') or the dwarf varieties like 'Nanho Blue', and 'White Chip'. Gardeners in cold areas can welcome Buddleja macrostachya on a terrace during warm weather and see it flower in the greenhouse as early as February.