Description
Buddleja nivea | Woolly Butterfly Bush
Woolly Butterfly Bush, a Snow White Butterfly Bush is an upright deciduous or semi-evergreen shrub that is primarily grown in gardens for its foliage and stems, both of which are densely covered with an attractive white-woolly indumentum (felt-like fuzz), which sort of covers the pale purple blooms from view. The flowers are mildly fragrant and attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees. Leaves are long and narrow with silvery undersides and serrated edges. The Latin word niveus means snowy or snow white.
Buddleja nivea is native to open woodlands, forest margins, and mountain thickets in southern China. It typically grows to 6-10 ft tall and to 8 ft wide unless pruned or killed back due to overly harsh weather.
Grows best in full sun in sharply drained, sandy or gravely soils. Does not like overly wet conditions. Prune in spring whenever you want to make it more shapely.
Generally thrives in zones 7-9 where it can remain semi-evergreen. It tolerates temperatures down to about 5°F with good conditions and drainage, though it needs shelter in colder areas.
Start seeds indoors with heat, humidity, and light. Do not cover tiny seeds with soil. Allow 2-4 weeks to germinate.
Type: Perennial
Sun exposure: Full sun
Mature height: 7-9 ft
Mature width: 7 ft
Hardiness zones: 7-9
UNROOTED CUTTINGS:
- Price is for three 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.
