Just wondering which buddleia plants are flowering at the moment?
I have Silver Anniversary flowering, as well as one that I have grown from a cutting, that I think may be Buddleia davidii...the common mauve one....only a small plant in a pot, but flowering happily already.
Hi Anna
our dark purple buddleia is starting to come into flower buds
the yellow buddleia as well coming into flower buds
lawrence
picton
Hi Anna,
We have our Black Knight in flower at present and what GORGEOUS buds we have this year. I was commenting to Al on how pretty and dark they really look this year. The cut back must have done them well.
The White profusion is about to flower along with the Royal red and the Pink delight.
I so cant wait to see these all in flower again;-)
Also in Nelson I saw the buddleia madagascariensis that is tumbling over a steep bank was still flowering...and it has done for a few months now.
Yesterday in Mapua I saw some healthy looking buddleia on a bank with small tight balls of yellow just starting to flower. I don't know the name of it, but will try and get a photo of it when over there next time.
On some other plants I have grown from cuttings, I see they are starting to develop flower buds, so its going to be fun finding out what colours etc they are.
Is the Buddleia madagascariensis an invasive plant to have?
We have noticed they have grown really strong from cuttings and do not want to give any away if the plant is an unmentionable one! LOL
Hi Charlotte,
Were you thinking of offering it for sale along with the others you sell on trademe?
B. madagascariensis can be invasive in warmer climates. It is mentioned on some sites that it can be a problem from Auckland to the far north and possibly around Nelson.
It might be an idea to look into it further. From what I know it can inhabit sand-dunes and coastal sites in warmer areas, and has colonised in areas around KeriKeri, Bay of Islands and Nelson. I think it has the potential to naturalise and therefore should be cultivated with caution.
I have some in my garden this year, but am growing it with caution. I believe it does not fruit in NZ, but is mostly distributed vegetatively by people!! (Cuttings)
If it begins to look invasive here I will dispose of it.
Anna - Does it appear to be a problem around Nelson? Has it naturalised and spread? I'd be interested to hear.
Hi Jane,
Not at this stage Jane as we don't know what the plant will grow like up here in Auckland. We wont sell anything we're not sure of;-)
We were going to offer it to Waitakere members in our butterfly group, but if it is invasive then "no way".
If the plant shows signs of being invasive Al will be ripping it out and disposing of it.
We've kept our one in a pot at this stage to see how it goes. But we were amazed at the strike rate with the cuttings.
Thanks Jane for letting me know.
Very wise Charlotte. I too am treating it with caution. Because it appears it may only spread vegetatively it shouldn't be too much of a problem trialling it in a pot or even in the ground here - it's easy enough to kill it off. It's an interesting flower though isn't it?
Im keen to hear from Anna on the subject because it appears to be prevalent in Annas area. Hopefully she will wade in on the subject at some point and may be able to offer some advice based on it's behaviour in the Nelson area. I wonder if Gilly has seen it in the Bay of Islands? Or anyone else up that way for that matter.
Are you talking about the cuttings I sent down from near Kohukohu? It didn't seem to be a problem in the area it was growing - almost looked like it had been planted.
If not the one from near Kohukohu, where did the original cuttings come from? That might be a clue as to how much of a problem it will be.
Hi Jacqui,
Mine were from Anna, so Nelson I think
With any Buddleia plant or cutting we're either given or buy we always start them in pots and see how they go first;-)
When we were up at Kumeu Plantarama and down the back in all of his cheap plants Al noticed the Buddleia. It had obviously been there for quite some time as the bag it was in was all split and the roots had busted out and were growing in the ground. It was the flower and the colour of the flower that intrigued us;-)
It certainly does have an interesting flower.
Kumeu plant centre did have some rather large B. savifolia down the back as well. These were all in his $10 and $20 areas.
If you really know your plants - like you do Jane this place is good to go to if your ever up this way. They are a bit run down, but some tender loving care and they will be away growing;-)
This is where we got the white scented flowered plant I sent you a photo of to identify for us;-)
It would be good to hear if anyone up this way or further north has seen it.
I will when I have some time do some more searching on this one.
The buddleia madagascariensis is described in the book put out by the Royal Horticultural Society, "Buddlejas" by David D Stuart....on page 45, theres quite a long description, over half a page, but part of what it says is its a worthy species and would be good choice for a large conservatory or against a warm wall in the garden....and it received the Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Hort Society in 2002.
It originally came from Madagascar.
The flower starts off pale yellow, then develops into a really deep goldy yellow with age, and has a strong honey scent.
(I have lots of photos of it, or you can google images of it)
The two plants that I know of in Nelson, don't seem to be a problem, and it flowered late winter, and is still going now.
I am like Charlotte, growing most of mine in pots/buckets until I decide whether to give them a permanent spot in the garden.
The butterflies are clambering all over lilac coloured buddleia flowers on the one thats flowering at the moment....in its pot.
Jacqui, I have a small plant I have grown from one of the cuttings you sent, then I found a couple of plants growing in Nelson with leaves and flowers that seemed to match the ones you sent. So I took cuttings.
Once I get them both flowering It will be better to compare them....tho I have photos of both of them. The cutting I sent Jane is from the Nelson buddleia.
While on the subject of Buddlejas, I thought theres a couple of links that may be interesting:
Interesting stuff, Anna! Particularly about the seeds - easy to see the difference of the various cultivars there. Thanks.
Thanks Jacqui.
Now...today I found another buddleia that has just started flowering, and am curious to find out what it is called. I thought it may be B globosa, but it doesn't look like the images of globosa I have found on the internet. This one has small tight globular golden balls about the size of a marble.
It has a strong honey scent, and was attracting bumblebees.
Any ideas anyone??
I'll post photos of it when I get time.
I've just sent the photos through now. Anyone know which one this buddleia is?
http://www.monarch.org.nz/monarch/2011/11/24/buddleia-id-sought-anyone-know-which-one-it-is/
Hi Anna, the Buddleia is globosa, I grew it for several years but the flower heads were disappointingly smaller than described.
Wow, that's an interesting one!
Hi Anna,
We have this one growing here in our gardens in a pot. We are like Norm and very disappointed by the buds.We're still waiting for the buds to come out at present this season. A very slow one to flower (we think).
Our B.lindleyana is about to come into flower now and the Black knight is blooming away. If it is fine this weekend we will take photos for you;-)
We do have photos of the Buddleias from last season, but our camera skills and camera were not that great;-)
Great sites Anna and I think we have the golden glow or is it moonlight? So hard to tell unless you're an expert;-)
I will send through photos to Jacqui of our B. golden glow? and see if anyone knows if it is that one.
We have been told it is a weyeriana x.
Thanks for that...yes the flowers are tiny. I was a bit confused, as when I googled for images of B globosa, the flowers seemed to be a lot looser, and larger than this golden tiddler!
Mind you...the bumblebees were really loving it. You can see a bumblebee in one of the photos having a feed...but you need to have sharp eyes and a good imagination!
LOL Anna yes it is a tiddler;-)
With our echium this year we managed to have alot of bumble bees and bees present in the garden. When the Monarchs were around they had to fight the bees for the echium flowers;-)
If you would like to purchase the book Anna mentioned, "Buddlejas" by David D. Stuart, then you might find this link useful:
Thanks Darren. I will look at purchasing this book soon. At the moment I just go to the library and get the book out, and check from here. But nothing like having the book at home and you can look at any time;-)
My photos are up of the weyeriana x, thanks;-)
Does anyone know which one it is please?
http://www.monarch.org.nz/monarch/2011/11/25/buddelia-weyeriana-x/
Great to see the photos of it Char.
In the buddleia book both moonlight and sungold look a lot yellower than your photos....yours is more cream.
If anyone finds a website that shows dozens of named Buddleias, it would be great to have the link. The Buddleia book is great, but theres scope for tons more colour photos identifying them, along with the description.
I'm sending through some of my photos of Buddleia weyeriana hybrids I have growing here too for comparison.
http://www.monarch.org.nz/monarch/2011/11/26/photos-for-buddleia-thread/
The further I look into it and the more books and websites I look at to try to ID these, the more confused I become....hence now just calling them B. weyeriana hybrids.
The Buddleia book is really good especially for reading botanical descriptions of species, but can't possibly list all the hybrid variations, hence I think confusion will alway exist with the weyerianas. It could well be that there are simply so many minor variations within the hybrid range!!
There is a dark pink one that I think may be a weyeriana hybrid, only because of the globular form on the panicle and the orangey centre within the florets. It has the form of the weyerianas, but the colour of the B. davidii hybrid similar to B. 'Pink Delight'
Thanks Jane it would be good to look at your photos of the Buddleias you have to compare. But then each monitor views the photos differently;-(
We have been told the one we think is golden glow is a weyeriana x, so I guess it's best to call it like you say weyeriana hybrids or x.
I'm like you the more I look the more I become confused and I'm not a gardner;-)
I had a brainwave...(???) and thought if I got paint charts (so far I have the Resene ones) that I could find the closest match to each Buddleias flower, that would give me...and anyone else interested an idea of the true colour.
Probably a bit over the top, but I'd like to have a collection with not too many double-ups, so unless they are all flowering at the same time, it seems the next best thing to do.
As some blooms fade with time, I might make a note of the faded colour.
So far...the Buddleia "perhaps globosa" ( theres photos of it on the website) matches Resenes chart P13 "Westside".
The one I think may be B davidii ? is Resenes chart P41 "Taffeta"....and the centre of each floret is Resenes chart P13 "Pizazz".
I'm looking forward to seeing mine flower:)
Great idea, Anna.
Colours are always different when you look at them on someone else's computer, but up and down the country Resene's colours are the same.
Jane's photos are uploaded now:
http://www.monarch.org.nz/monarch/2011/11/26/photos-for-buddleia-thread/
Its good to see the photos Jane. Are the two cream coloured ones from the same plant or different plants?
Anna,
My photos are from different plants.
Forgot to say too, that your Buddleia photo ID request is I'm sure: B. globosa.
The paint chart colours is a great idea.
Charlotte,
About the weyeriana crosses; It surely sin't just us. All the websites, books, references, descriptions etc., mix up the crosses and give differing names. I still think that no-one appears to know for sure, AND that the plants themselves are variations on a hybrid. The other factor is that the soil can alter colour depending on which nutrients and chamicals are present. Time of day the photos were taken. Amount of time elapsed since the florets opened. Camera, sunlight, computer monitor, and our own eyes - some of us see colours differently (my son-in law is colour-blind and it is incredible the difference in his colour perception). I don't think we will ever know for sure unless we get a Buddleia expert in from the UK or US!!! LOL
I agree Jane, and yes it would be nice to have an expert to come and identify the plants;-)
Some years ago Chris and Linda Ryan in the Hawkes Bay kept the official Royal NZ Horticultural Society collection of Buddleias - they were breeding them in those days. They have been very helpful in identifying some Buddleias but say it's important to know where they came from and when they're flowering.
They're going to take a look at the photographs you've uploaded, Jane and Anna.
Linda wrote a piece for the NZ Gardener in the early 1990's. It would be great to get hold of a copy.
Watch this space!
Ooh, this sounds interesting. It would be good to know what month Linda wrote the article, so we can keep an eye out for it.
The colour chart would be one way, but you could also try a piece of pure white paper, like photocopy paper. Many cameras have a "custom white" setting. Take a picture of the paper next to the flower, then hold the paper behind the flower and take a second shot using those settings. Many software programs will also allow the user to adjust the white balance of a photo. Knowing the background is supposed to be white makes it easier.
Driving down the road today saw a buddleia that looked like it was covered with little mandarins. Stopped for closer look, and took some cuttings. It is definitely B. globosa, and its flowers are tight little golden balls about the size of a marble, but there are LOTS of them. What I would call an extremely floriferous plant. Obviously that's not the experience of others on this thread, so perhaps it is a particularly good one, or the conditions are exactly right. It was just on the roadside verge, on a country road, so probably not that well-fed. Maybe your gardens are too fertile and they grow leaves instead of flowers?
Thats interesting Pepetuna. Today I visited the one I took photos of the other day, and it has a lot more flowers. Its growing on a bank. I think it may be worth a try growing it, but keeping it underfed may be the trick!
Good idea Darren...I might try both methods, and see what happens.
There is a big Buddleia globosa hedge currently flowering in Palmerston North, I'll try to get a photo tomorrow. It certainly has a lot of flowers, and it appears to be the first buddleia to flower after the B. auriculata has finished here.
I've just found this large list of buddleia from Longstock nurseries in the UK.
http://www.longstocknursery.co.uk/buddleja-c31.html
The reference for the New Zealand Gardener article that Jacqui mentioned is:
Ryan, Linda (1994) Butterfly bushes. NZ Gardener v50 (2):pp36-38 February 1994
That was an interesting link Anna, especially page 2. They have so many hybrids over there to choose from, and more each year with hybridisers busy at work making new crosses.
From their descriptions of the B. weyeriana, there is still room for confucion LOL
I've got a few photos which will be posted here of a buddleia globosa hedge that I see each day on the way to work.
It is very large as the photos will demonstrate, and keep in mind this one is clipped and kept in trim regularly, so the proportions if left to grow would be immense. I was thinking about taking a cutting or two, but really I don't want anything quite THAT large, and it doesn't appear to have a long flowering season.
Jane,
I think it may be possible to restrict the growth/height somewhat, now I have seen the difference between two B fallowiana lochinch that I planted in the garden. One grew really healthily, and is nearly a metre and a half tall, and just bursting with buds, then the other one...exactly the same plant from the same nursery...but I bought it a couple of months later. (It was looking a bit bedraggled, and was in their bargain bin.) I planted it near the other one, and it struggled for quite a while, but now its only a couple of feet high, but every tip has a healthy flower bud....that looks as though it will flower the same time as the other one.
I was thinking you could grow some annually from cuttings, let them flower, and replace them before if they get too rampant?
Its early days for me with them, but theres no harm in experimenting:)
Pepetuna...thanks for that. I'll try and hunt the article/magazine down.
http://www.monarch.org.nz/monarch/2011/11/30/buddleia-globosa-palmerston-north-291111/
Buddleia globosa showing size of shrub.
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