Buddleja agathosma
sweet-scented butterfly bush
Tender, deciduous shrub to 5m high, with an open habit, and large, variable lance-shaped leaves with wavy edges, covered on both sides in silver-grey hairs. Panicles of small, sweetly scented flowers ranging in colour from pale lilac to purplish pink, and sometimes with orange throats, in late spring and early summer
Buy this plant
Size
Ultimate height
4–8 metresTime to ultimate height
5–10 yearsUltimate spread
2.5–4 metresGrowing conditions
Moisture
Moist but well–drained, Well–drainedpH
Neutral, Alkaline, AcidColour & scent
| Stem | Flower | Foliage | Fruit | |
| Spring | Pink Purple | Grey Silver | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer | Pink Purple | Grey Silver | ||
| Autumn | ||||
| Winter | Grey Silver |
Position
- Full sun
Aspect
South–facing or West–facing
Exposure
Sheltered Hardiness
H3Botanical details
- Family
- Scrophulariaceae
- Native to GB / Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Bushy
- Genus
Buddleja can be evergreen or deciduous shrubs, occasionally trees or scrambling climbers with simple leaves and panicles of small, tubular fragrant flowers
- Name status
Correct
- Plant range
- Yunnan Province, China
How to grow
Cultivation
Needs full sun, well-drained soil and a frost-fee location. Ideal for a large conservatory or greenhouse. See buddleja cultivation for more detailed advice
Propagation
Propagate by hardwood cuttings in autumn, or by semi-hardwood cuttings in summer
Suggested planting locations and garden types
- Mediterranean climate plants
- Sub-tropical
- Conservatory and greenhouse
Pruning
Pests
May be susceptible to aphids, capsid bugs, caterpillars, earwigs, figwort weevils, glasshouse red spider mite, leaf and bud eelworm, and mullein moth
Diseases
May be susceptible to honey fungus, fungal leaf spot, and virus diseases
Get involved
The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.