Description
Buddleja americana | American Butterfly Bush
Buddleja americana, which we refer to as American Butterfly Bush, was the original and very first Buddleja in the genus to be described by Linnaeus in 1753. The genus was named in honor of Reverend Adam Buddle. Many variations in spelling have been used: , Buddleja, Budleja, Buddleja, Buddleia, Buddlea, Buddleya, Budlaea, Budlea, and Budleia. Linnaeus adopted BUDDLEJA, so that’s what is cited in the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature as the botanically correct spelling, even though the type-writer machine was out of ‘i’ so used a ‘j’…
American Butterfly Bush is the most widespread of all the Buddleja species, and as the name suggests, it’s native to the Americas, with its range extending south from Tamaulipas, Mexico, through Central America and down the Pacific coast of South America, reaching eastward to Venezuela, westward as far as the Galapagos, and south to Bolivia.
This woody shrub grows in a variety of habitats including oak and pine forests, woodlands, rocky slopes, riparian areas, fields, roadsides, mountain savannas, and cloud forests. It grows well at low and middle altitudes in elevations from sea level to 6500 ft.
Soft, ovate, silver-green leaves and pale yellow flowers that are on the smaller side, being narrow and reaching just 3-10 inches long. Attracts butterflies and pollinators.
Plants are not cold hardy and are quickly killed by the first frost.
Seeds germinate with heat, humidity, and light. Do not cover the tiny seeds with soil. They may take up to 4 weeks or more to germinate so don’t give up on them too soon! The seedlings start out extremely tiny, so the most delicate of care must be taken for the first few weeks of growth.
We originally sourced these seeds from Cumnock, Scotland and are the ONLY seed shop in the world to currently offer these seeds.
Type: Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Mature height: 3 ft
Mature width: 2 ft
Hardiness zones: 10-12
UNROOTED CUTTINGS:
- Price is for five cuttings (5)
- Each cutting is 4-9 inches long. May be single top or multi-top.
- Guaranteed to be green, healthy, and alive. Plus pest and pathogen free.
- Guaranteed to be true-to-name.
- Packages are shipped out on Mondays and Tuesdays ONLY.
- If it’s believed the plants are not alive and healthy when you receive them you must let us know any concerns you have within 24 hours of arrival. If we do not hear any concerns within 24 hours it will be assumed that everything arrived in good standing. We cannot be held responsible for mishaps, errors, mistakes, or bad luck after this time frame.
ROOTING INSTRUCTIONS:
How to prepare cuttings to root via rooting cubes inside a humidity dome.
- Upon arrival, give cuttings a new fresh cut on the bottom of the stem. Then set in a cup of water for a minimum of 15 minutes.
- After soaking, gently cut or scrape small marks into the bottom portion of the plant stem (½ inch) with scissors or a razor blade.
- Dip the scarred end of the stem into rooting gel or rooting powder (gel is superior). This can be done without rooting gel, but results are not as good.
- Insert the plant stem into a rooting cube (Oasis cubes, grow plugs, soil-cubes, rock-wool cubes, etc) and place into a nursery tray with a humidity dome over the top. One cutting per cube. Custom individual humidity domes can be made using plastic cups and/or plastic cling wrap.
- After the first 3-5 days, the humidity dome should be opened up or set ajar to slowly allow more air in as the plants start to root. At this point, the cubes should be allowed to become mostly dry before adding any more water.
- Once 2-3 roots grow out of the bottom of the root-cube, the plant can be transplanted into soil.
- More detailed rooting instructions will accompany your order.
