About
Buddleja alternifolia is a robust deciduous shrub that can also be shaped into a small tree. It features arching branches adorned with slender, grey-green foliage. The plant produces clusters of fragrant lilac-purple blooms along the shoots from the previous year.
About the genus
Buddleja comprises evergreen and deciduous shrubs, and in some cases, it can also be found as small trees or scrambling climbers. The foliage consists of simple leaves, and the plants produce clusters of small, tubular flowers that emit a pleasant fragrance.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil type
- Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drained, Well-drained
- Aspect
- South-facing, West-facing, East-facing
- Exposure
- Exposed, Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H6
Plant details
- Plant type
- Shrubs
- Habit
- Bushy
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Height
- 2.5-4 metres
- Spread
- 2.5-4 metres
- Time to full height
- 10-20 years
- Suggested uses
- Cottage and informal garden
- Native to
- China, Tibet
- Fragrance
- Flower
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Buddleja perform best when grown in a sunny, well-drained situation. See buddleja cultivation for more detailed advice
- Pruning
- Pruning group 2
- Propagation
- Propagate by semi-hardwood cuttings
- Pest resistance
- May be susceptible to aphids, capsid bugs, caterpillars, earwigs, figwort weevils, glasshouse red spider mite, leaf and bud eelworm, and mullein moth
- Disease resistance
- May be susceptible to honey fungus, fungal leaf spot, and virus diseases