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Buddleja davidii 'Dark Dynasty' (Monarch Series)
  • RHS Plants for pollinators

butterfly bush 'Dark Dynasty'

Compact, deciduous shrub about 1-1.2m tall and wide, semi-evergreen in warm locations, with slender grey-green leaves and bearing panicles of deep purple fragrant flowers above sturdy stems, and flowering through summer

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Size
Ultimate height
1–1.5 metres
Time to ultimate height
2–5 years
Ultimate spread
0.1–0.5 metres
Growing conditions
Chalk
Loam
Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained, Well–drained
pH
Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
Colour & scent
StemFlowerFoliageFruit
Spring Grey Silver Green
Summer Purple Grey Silver Green
Autumn Grey Silver Green
Winter Grey Silver Green
Position
  • Full sun
Aspect

South–facing or West–facing or East–facing

Exposure
Exposed or Sheltered
Hardiness
H6
Botanical details
Family
Scrophulariaceae
Native to GB / Ireland
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Spreading branched
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

Accepted

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in well-drained soil in full sun. Suited to container cultivation. See buddleja cultivation for more detailed advice

Propagation

Propagate by semi-ripe cuttings in summer, or by hardwood cuttings in autumn

Suggested planting locations and garden types
  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Coastal
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Gravel garden
  • Patio and container plants
  • Wildlife gardens
  • Flower borders and beds
Pruning

Pruning group 6

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

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