I love Buddleia. So do the butterflies. I have the old standby "Black Knight". Huge, fragrant panicles. They are a joy.

" They are a joy. "

Unless you live where they are considered a weed! Randomly sprouting buddleias are a big concern along the west coast and they are officially listed as an invasive species. Apparently this trait is becoming more and more common in other areas of the country as well.

I'd encourage shoppers of these shrubs to be on the look out for one of the numerous sterile cultivars now on the market. Let's not add to the problem by planting a recognized invasive species.

I don't much like the davidiis for various reasons. Enless you prune fastidiously they end up covered in dead flower heads and they don't lose their leaves in winter, nor are they fully evergreen. They're just a twiggy mess. But I can't help admiring their audacity when I take a train and the tracks are lined with huge flowering bushes in various purples, mauves and whites.

I've seen Silver Anniversary in pictures but not yet in person. I'm not a big fan of the flowers, but I suppose they're not really the point. Let us know how it performs.

that looks nice, and rather Perovskia- or Arthemisia-ish, lovely. I will look it up, but I guess it has frost issues (zone 5-10, that could work...)

as it happpens I redo patches of my perennial planting, culling some tea-hybrids and too many Alchemilla mollis, and there might be a bit aditional room to spare...

I rarely buy plants for their foliage . Obviously, I fully appreciate the value but I just tend to get sidetracked by flashy petallage. I have been looking at mannerly shrubs and this (sterile) cultivar just ticked all the boxes. And if our butterflies and moths enjoy the nectar, this is always a plus for me.

Bought a buddleja

My hero :).

Ours in a planter this past mid September:

We inherited two large medium purple buddleias planted along the driveway when we moved here. A very long blooming season (June to hard freeze), fragrance and irresistible to butterflies - perfect in that spot.

Our predecessors also planted a row of "Black Knight" buddleias between two rows of shrub roses - a less than optimal spot for the buddleias. I dug one out this past spring and replanted it in a new bed, where it has thrived.

I love the look of your buddleia but the browned flowers on my last white buddleia would make me nervous about trying another…

My buddleja arrived. I will try to take a picture. It is a lovely thing, I don't think there is going to be an issue with browning flowers (one of the least nice aspects of pale davidiis) as the flower architecture is contained and rounded - nothing like the usual spike of florets. And if I am not keen, I will snip them off - I have this for the foliage which is like palest silver grey velvet. I think this is going to look just right in the selected spot. I am going to add a convolvulous sabatius to scramble around the base or, if I can get hold of c.althaeoides, even better.

My buddleja arrived.

Just curious @rosaprimula UK (Cambridge) Z8/9, did it get delivered to you at your home or did you get notification that it was available for pick up at the nursery or....?

And more wondering......at what point in the calendar that nurseries in your neck of the woods dont carry outdoor perennials? And then when would they start up again?

I think this is going to look just right in the selected spot.

That is for "us" to judge :) i.e. you must promise to post pictures.

Rouge, outdoor perennials are available all year round here. I would imagine the plant was delivered to her door, as advertised on the website.

Exactly so. Floral. £15 for the plant with £7 postage, so only £22 (don't know how that translates in Canadian currency...but over on the Antique rose forum, they were discussing bare-root roses for $35. I was astounded! All prices have gone up because of energy/politics, but I was interested to see how prices compare. A 1.4 litre Actaea from say, Beeches Nursery is between £7.50-£9.00. A more expensive option would be to go through plant warehouses such as Crocus, or garden centres, where a standard perennial will be between £10-£14 and around £9-10 at a box store.

.

outdoor perennials are available all year round here.

Obviously so different than my location where selling outdoor plants stops sometime in October at the latest and doesn't start again till maybe late April with not much variety till way later.

My buddleja arrived. I will try to take a picture.

I'm waiting ;)

" Obviously so different than my location where selling outdoor plants stops sometime in October at the latest and doesn't start again till maybe late April with not much variety till way later. "

This is very likely related to weather conditions. Where winter weather - cold/freezing temps, frozen soil and lots of snow - preclude planting and gardening during the winter months, it doesn't make much sense to maintain a stock of plants that will not be purchased but will still need care and protection in the nursery. In milder climates where those same weather conditions do not exist or exist very rarely, planting and gardening in general can be accomplished year round. And plant availability is also year round, although obviously seasonally abbreviated in winter. In local nurseries you will still find an assortment of conifers, broadleaved evergreen shrubs and hardy, winter interest perennials available throughout the winter. A recent visit to my local nursery offered an assortment of hellebores - many in flower or bud - bergenia, euphorbias, cyclamen, heaths and heathers and a bunch of ground covers and EG grasses. Also a decent selection of winter pansies and other tough, cold tolerant annuals. Selection and availability starts increasing dramatically as early as February with bare root offerings and by the end of March, plant selection here is pretty much full service but with a definite seasonal bent towards all herbaceous material. Tough to sell an empty looking pot even with a fully dormant perennial buried in the potting soil :-)

This is very likely related to weather conditions.

For sure that is the reason. But I was just thinking that there would be enough prolonged inclement weather in England that one wouldn't find buddlejas in say.....January ;).

Maybe things would look more like my location in terms of plant availability i.e. complete lack of, in say...Northern England or Scotland?

One would be unlikely to find Buddleia available at area nurseries in January here as well :-) Not so much because of weather concerns but because the plant has minimal 'sales presence' at that time of year. And IME with the retail nursery industry, 'sales presence' is the primary factor governing when plants are available for sale.......the same concept behind not attempting to sell a bare pot with a fully dormant perennial ticked safely inside!

I have no idea how the nursery industry works in the UK or even rouge's location but here, most retail nurseries are resellers, not growers, and obtain the bulk of their plant inventory from larger, wholesale growers. When they sell out for the season, they are sold out. Very little new inventory is taken on board from late fall through late winter because a) it is simply not available from the growers, and b) why invest potentially delayed returns on not "retail ready" plants lacking sales presence?

btw, the UK has a relatively similar geographic profile and somewhat uniform planting zones. And has a pretty small footprint, all things considered. The entire UK could fit within the state of Oregon!! Hard to reconcile that with the extremely diverse geography and vast expanses of North America!!

O, I tend to buy from nurseries which have grown their own stock...so right now, there is a brisk trade in bare-root, field-lifted stock plus still a lot of potted plants from the previous season - I bought 3 veronicastrums with 2 withered stalks poking up though leafy mulch. My buddleja came with a nice little coir mulch mat and looks a handsome little plant (O, Rouge, I will get onto it) so yep, plant buying continues throughout the year (with obvious downtimes, but never dormant).

I spotted this Buddleja this morning. Could it be ‘Silver Anniversary’? If so it looks as if it needs hard pruning to retain the good foliage and neat shape. Not to mention the dreaded dead heading. Sorry about the picture quality. It was growing well above my head.

Could be, Floral...or one of the parents, b.loricata, maybe. Blimey though - it does look a bit ratty and in need of a haircut. When mine arrived, the bloom on the leaves was white and somewhat furry, covering the leaves entirely, but having sat out in the rain for a week, the leaves look much more buddleja-like, with most of the silvery colouration remaining on the underside of the leaves, while the upperside is much greener.

I've seen Silver Anniversary in pictures but not yet in person. I'm not a big fan of the flowers, but I suppose they're not really the point. Let us know how it performs.

Hey@rosaprimula UK (Cambridge) Z8/9, I know it is early but I am curious, like @floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK, as to how your "Silver Anniversary" is looking these days.

It came through winter, dropping leaves but vigorously replacing the damaged foliage with bright silver leaves. Very visible, even though it is still small. It has a difficult role, occupying the space between 2 distinct areas of the allotment. The much wilder area around the pond - tall perennials and trees (rosa moyesii, red hazel, nandina,, rudbeckia laciniata, cercis canadensis, paeony delavayii, polypodiums and so on), dropping down into the gravel/scree area (still in construction). I was hoping the buddleja, along with cistus and coronilla (sadly winter-killed), would fill this liminal space between 2 distinct plant zones.

In other news, noticing the curled appearance of my eryngium seedlings - a glance through my magnifying glass revealed an infestation of greenhouse pests - whitefly and aphids. I usually squash them* but fear the delicate new leaves will not appreciate being mangled between my probing fingers.

*I had been noticing my clothes seemed to have 2 definite greenish stripes, always on my right side at hip level. Was baffled until I finally realised that squashing a million greenflies, then wiping my hands on my skirt or trousers will lead to smears of aphid corpse on my clothes.

#filthoid

Excellent update @rosaprimula UK (Cambridge) Z8/9 :)

Hey @rosaprimula UK (Cambridge) Z8/9, what say you now re your "Silver Anniversary"?

Well, it isn't exactly roaring into growth, unlike the behemoth which has invaded my garden wall. but many plants have also been struggling with the lack of rain. I have been attempting to hold my nerve and not offer any water unless a plant is haggard and anguished (as am I) so survival is my baseline at the moment. It is also in a part of the allotment which has not been receiving much attention but is creeping up the list. I am having another push to sort out photos (take this with a giant spoon of salt).