Description
Buddleja/ Buddleia fallowiana | Fallowiana Butterfly Bush ‘Alba’ (white form)
A deciduous shrub native to Yunnan, Sichuan, and Xizang, China.
Fallowiana or Fallows Butterfly Bush (named after George Fallow), also sometimes called White-flowered Chinese Butterfly Bush, has arching branches bearing lance-shaped, heavily-felted, whitish, silvery-green leaves that are soft to the touch, and panicles of highly-fragrant creamy-white flowers with large yellow-orange eyes, blooming from late summer into early fall. The aroma is similar to that of the Buddleja davidii, but even sweeter. The flowers are similar too, but are a little bit smaller. The structure is similar, but fallowiana is slower growing and a little more compact and stays shorter.
The ‘Alba’ cultivar is considered more hardy than average for the species.
Found naturally in open woodland, forest edges, and stream banks in mountainous elevations. In the garden, it grows best in fertile, free-draining soil in full sun. Will tolerate some shade. Goes mostly deciduous in winter and may die back to the ground in extremely cold winters. Site in a sheltered spot if possible. For the healthiest growth it is recommended to soft-prune in late autumn and then hard prune down to your knees in April.
B. fallowiana was one of the parents used to create the famous Buddleja hybrid, B. ‘Lochinch’.
Seedling grown plants will show a variation in flower color. Creamy-white and shades of lilac-blue are common.
This is one of our favorite Buddleja! It was accorded the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit in 1993 and then reaffirmed in 2010. This shrub came second (after ‘Sungold’) in a public poll of 57 Buddleja species and cultivars conducted by the University of Georgia in 1997.
Type: Perennial
Sun exposure: Full sun
Mature height: 6 ft
Mature width- 6 ft
Hardiness zones: 7-9
