Description
Buddleja alternifolia| Fountain Butterfly Bush ‘Argentea’ (silver form)
Fountain Butterfly Bush, also called Alternate-leaved butterfly bush, Silver Fountain Butterfly Bush, and Weeping Butterfly Bush, is a deciduous shrub that’s endemic to Gansu, China, capable of reaching a mature height of 8-10 ft tall and potentially just as wide, but it takes many years to reach that size. When pruned it can be kept to a desirable habit. The ‘Argentea’ (silver) form bears lanceolate silver-green leaves that alternate on the slender weeping branches of graceful pendant racemes of honey-scented lilac-colored flowers that are so densely crowded in clusters along the branch in late spring that it often obscures the rest of the plant! Buddleja alternifolia ‘Argentea’ is said to be superior in appearance, but grows slower than the standard form.
It’s a not so common shrub anymore, but grows great in larger gardens, although our ‘Argentea’ took 4 years to reach 3 ft in full sun and average soil. Plant it pretty much anywhere and it’ll grow. In its native territory it grows along river banks in thickets at moderate elevations.
First year plants can be finicky and grow slow to start. They are more delicate than other Buddlejas and don’t have the robust growth that B. davidii has, however they are more cold hardy and do not die back as much. Any pruning should be done immediately after flowering in early summer since the plant blooms on old wood. It’s possible to train as a single trunk and turn into a tree once tall enough.
Butterflies and pollinators love it!
Type: Perennial
Sun exposure: Full sun
Mature height: 8-10 ft
Mature width- 6-8 ft
Hardiness zones: 4-9
UNROOTED CUTTINGS:
- Price is for three 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.
- Please only order unrooted cuttings if you are comfortable and familiar with rooting plants
- Plant orders shipped out on Monday and Tuesday 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.
The plant you will receive will be one of these plants or a similar one.
Please note: We ship plants orders out on Mondays and Tuesdays only.
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.
