Description
Buddleja virgata (formerly Gomphostigma virgatum) | Twiggy Butterfly Bush (Otter Bush — Otterbossie)
Twiggy Butterfly Bush, also known as Otter Bush and River Star, is a fast-growing evergreen South African shrub that was once considered a relative of Buddleja, but recent phylogenetic research has sunk it under genus Buddleja. (Virgata means made of twigs, or ‘twiggy’.)
Delicate, slender silver-gray foliage create a 4-6’ tall and 2-4’ wide shrub with a common broom or a rosemary like appearance with small, delicately scented white flowers that are arranged in erect spikes and bloom sporadically late spring through fall. It grows naturally into an arching vase shape, but can be pruned to make it more bushy. ‘Otterbush’ grows naturally between boulders at the edges of streams, making it a fine overhanging plant at the edge of a pond or a water feature. Does well as a container plant or anywhere in the garden that receives regular watering. Provide well-draining soil in full sun. Will tolerate some shade. It may be pruned hard in early spring to encourage bushiness and more prolific flowering.
Start seeds indoors with heat, humidity, and light, or scatter outside. Allow up to 2 weeks to germinate.
Type: Perennial
Sun exposure: Full sun
Mature height: 4-6 ft
Mature width: 2-4 ft
Hardiness zones: 7-10
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 familiar and comfortable 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.
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.
We ship plants orders out on Mondays and Tuesdays only.
