Buddleia globosa

[peterc]

There is an interesting article in Saturday's Times on Buddleia varieties to grow in the garden. One attractive variety I like is B. globosa (Orange Ball Tree) so am wondering how good it is for butterflies?

ATB

Peter

[bugboy]

I think it's on a par with davidii although it does naturally flower earlier in the year, June...ish when there's less around to use it.

[peterc]

I think it's on a par with davidii although it does naturally flower earlier in the year, June...ish when there's less around to use it.

Thanks Paul.

Yes, according to the article, and it flowers on last year's shoots. Pruning not to be done in spring (obviously I suppose).

Peter

[bugboy]

I think it's on a par with davidii although it does naturally flower earlier in the year, June...ish when there's less around to use it.

Thanks Paul.

Yes, according to the article, and it flowers on last year's shoots. Pruning not to be done in spring (obviously I suppose).

Peter

I think there's globosa/davidii hybrids that are also attractive to pollinators. Not sure about pruning requirements or flowering times for them though.

[David Lazarus]

My mother's Buddleja globosa proved very popular with the Holly Blue & Red Admiral back in the last week of May this year - I counted 6 Holly Blue on it at the same time, the most Holly Blue I have seen nectaring on one plant:

Holly Blue nectaring on Buddleja globosa
Garden in Chelmsford, Essex 29/05/2024

and a few Red Admiral also enjoyed the nectar:

Red Admiral nectaring on Buddleja globosa
Garden in Chelmsford, Essex 29/05/2024

Personally, I would not choose it in any garden or landscape design, Peter, particularly if the objective was to provide nectar for butterflies. I think there are far better plants. My preference these days are for native rather than exotic, but there is no denying that it is a popular nectar source.

[peterc]

My mother's Buddleja globosa proved very popular with the Holly Blue & Red Admiral back in the last week of May this year - I counted 6 Holly Blue on it at the same time, the most Holly Blue I have seen nectaring on one plant:

2024.05.29 Holly Blue Chignal Ro.jpg

and a few Red Admiral also enjoyed the nectar:

2024.05.29 Red Admiral Chignal R.jpg

Personally, I would not choose it in any garden or landscape design, Peter, particularly if the objective was to provide nectar for butterflies. I think there are far better plants. My preference these days are for native rather than exotic, but there is no denying that it is a popular nectar source.

Thanks for your advice David. Lovely photos too.

June is a quiet month in my garden for nectar-feeding butterflies although I do have 'Bowles Mauve' which, as most of you know, flowers for most of the year. I like the colour of Buddleja globosa so I will probably go for it.

ATB
Peter

[David Lazarus]

I like the colour of Buddleja globosa so I will probably go for it.

It is a lovely colour Peter. Make sure you give it enough room to ‘breathe’ as it is a big shrub. A minimum of 3 metre spread will be required for a mature shrub pruned after flowering. My mother’s has a spread of 5 metres plus and after flowering does not look great - it flowers for 7-10 days.

[ChrisStamp]

Buddleia globosa, most years, attracts Dark green fritillaries to my garden from their habitat a mile away!

[peterc]

Buddleia globosa, most years, attracts Dark green fritillaries to my garden from their habitat a mile away!

Nice. It would be great to find either of those two species in my garden. Sadly, Small Tortoiseshell absent this year - what a terrible time it is having.

ATB
Peter

[Jack Harrison]

Sadly, Small Tortoiseshell absent this year - what a terrible time it is having.

Not so in north Scotland. Numbers have been almost on a par with the abundant Peacocks. I guess, STs don't like the drier summers down south.

Jack

[David M]

Not so in north Scotland. Numbers have been almost on a par with the abundant Peacocks. I guess, STs don't like the drier summers down south.

It's anything but dry here in south Wales, Jack, but they've largely gone missing here too this last couple of years.

[Jack Harrison]

Well, with the insistence now of calling places, etc by the Welsh name only (eg Bannau Brycheiniog), maybe ST's haven't realised that they are supposed to lay their eggs on danadl poethion.

A good late-flowering buddleia is the cross between the ordinary purple and globosa, weyeriana.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/89656/bud ... ld/details.

But I found it less reliable and my plants died after a couple of years

As for short-lived 'Bowles Mauve' (wallflower) I have been propagating for a long time, but they now seem much less attractive to insects - the scent seems to be much less intense now (and that isn't just me - I can still detect disgusting odours like fried tomatoes - yes I have an aversion).

I digress with a story here. Breakfast were served on some of our early flights. One morning, the smell of tomatoes was so awful - even on the flight deck - that I put on my oxygen mask. Cabin girl came in and was very concerned that we had some aircraft problem when she saw the captain using oxygen.

Jack

[peterc]

Well, with the insistence now of calling places, etc by the Welsh name only (eg Bannau Brycheiniog), maybe ST's haven't realised that they are supposed to lay their eggs on danadl poethion.

A good late-flowering buddleia is the cross between the ordinary purple and globosa, weyeriana.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/89656/bud ... ld/details.

But I found it less reliable and my plants died after a couple of years

As for short-lived 'Bowles Mauve' (wallflower) I have been propagating for a long time, but they now seem much less attractive to insects - the scent seems to be much less intense now (and that isn't just me - I can still detect disgusting odours like fried tomatoes - yes I have an aversion).

I digress with a story here. Breakfast were served on some of our early flights. One morning, the smell of tomatoes was so awful - even on the flight deck - that I put on my oxygen mask. Cabin girl came in and was very concerned that we had some aircraft problem when she saw the captain using oxygen.

Jack

Thanks for the link, Jack. I will read up more on the hybrid weyeriana too.

ATB
Peter

[Dogviolet]

We've had globosa at two houses over the past 20-odd years. The first failed to flower at all over almost seven years. The second came from a cutting offered by a neighbour. It flowered well in years two and four and brought in the usual suspects like ST, RA, PL, both cabbage butterflies, Brimstone and Comma. Not to mention many different species of bees and hoverflies. Then suddenly it failed to flower. It has now been four years since it blossomed, but each year it produces masses of foliage, which is cut back to nothing in late winter (whether that's the correct time, I don't know.)
The bush in the neighbour's garden--like the neighbour!--is now deceased. If all is well, they certainly bring in
the butterflies, but I wouldn't have one again as it is so hit and miss. Better a biggish, bog-standard purple one!

[peterc]

We've had globosa at two houses over the past 20-odd years. The first failed to flower at all over almost seven years. The second came from a cutting offered by a neighbour. It flowered well in years two and four and brought in the usual suspects like ST, RA, PL, both cabbage butterflies, Brimstone and Comma. Not to mention many different species of bees and hoverflies. Then suddenly it failed to flower. It has now been four years since it blossomed, but each year it produces masses of foliage, which is cut back to nothing in late winter (whether that's the correct time, I don't know.)
The bush in the neighbour's garden--like the neighbour!--is now deceased. If all is well, they certainly bring in
the butterflies, but I wouldn't have one again as it is so hit and miss. Better a biggish, bog-standard purple one!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, DogViolet.

Yes, I understand that it is a bit hit and miss. However, according the Times article, the time to prune this variety is in the summer and lightly after flowering.

ATB
Peter

[ChrisStamp]

Yes, prune after flowering. Which is in the summer as this is a spring-flowering species. Pruning in late winter would explain no flowering.