Description
Buddleja colvilei | Colvilei Butterfly Bush
Buddleja colvilei, sometimes known as Crimson Butterfly Bush or East Himilayan Butterfly Bush, is a hard-to-find flowering deciduous shrub that was discovered by Hooker in 1849, who declared it “The handsomest of all Himalayan shrubs”. It grows as a large shrub or small tree with a broad, bushy, upright habit, growing up to 26 ft tall, although in most areas garden specimens will not reach more than 10-15 ft in the garden. The felted dark-green leaves are large and have a rusty underside. In May and June, B. colvilei bears large, graceful, pendulous panicles of tubular, open-mouthed, deep-pink flowers with a white throat. The blooms are the largest in the Buddleja genus. Loved by bees and other nectar seekers.
Frost tolerant, but protect the plant in winter for the first couple of years; established plants seem to be hardy. Prune after flowering to keep in shape and remove any dead or diseased wood. An excellent alternative for the rear of the garden border.
In 1896 the species was awarded the RHS First Class Certificate (FCC) given to plants of ‘outstanding excellence for exhibition’.
Type: Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full sun
Mature height: 6-12 ft (Up to 26 ft)
Mature width: 4-10 ft
Hardiness zones: 8-11
UNROOTED CUTTINGS:
- Price is for two cuttings (3)
- 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.