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Fountain Butterfly Bush Wikimedia Commons
Scrophulariaceae

Fountain Butterfly Bush

Buddleja alternifolia

Graceful welcome.

Family
Scrophulariaceae
Genus
Buddleja
Native to
Northwestern China
Bloom season
Spring, Summer
Type
deciduous shrub
Height
10-15 ft
Sunlight
full sun
Soil
well-drained, adaptable
Water
low to moderate
Hardiness
5-9
Lifespan
perennial

Did you know

  • Unlike the more common butterfly bush (B. davidii), fountain butterfly bush blooms on the previous year's wood, creating cascading arches of flowers.
  • The fragrant lilac-purple flowers cluster along the entire length of the arching branches, creating a waterfall effect.
  • It is the hardiest of all butterfly bush species, surviving winters that would kill its more commonly planted relatives.
  • Reginald Farrer, the famous English plant hunter, collected the species in Gansu Province, China, in 1914.
  • When trained as a small standard tree by removing lower branches, it creates a spectacular weeping form reminiscent of a flowering fountain.

Color meanings

0

rebirth

1

grace

Uses

  • specimen plant
  • butterfly gardens
  • trained as standard tree
  • mixed borders