Buddleja alternifolia Unique - Butterfly Bush

Buddleja alternifolia Unique is a newcomer in the world of butterfly trees, with a compact habit and beautiful floribundity. It is a more compact version of Buddleja alternifolia, with the same pendulous branches adorned with small green-grey leaves, but even more floriferous. From June to October, it transforms into a bushy fountain of blue-mauve. This amazing variety is easy to place in a small garden, within a free hedge, a low shrub bed, or in a large pot on a terrace.

Originating from Northwest China, Buddleja alternifolia is a deciduous shrub in the Scrophulariaceae (Buddlejaceae) family. Its bushy habit is slightly untidy but elegant, due to its long slightly arched branches. 'Unique' spontaneously appeared in 2009 in England in a sowing of hybrids derived from this species. It distinguishes itself by its smaller size, not exceeding 1.2 m (3.9 ft) in all directions, and by its long summer flowering, from June to October, on the current year's wood as well as on older branches. This plant does not produce pollen, so it does not self-sow. The fragrant lilac-coloured flowers are gathered in small rounded clusters along the branches. They attract a wide variety of butterflies. The foliage is almost silvery, as the upper side of the small narrow leaves is light green, while their undersides are almost white.

Very tolerant of soil, Buddleja alternifolia Unique is an elegant, robust, easy-to-grow plant that ages well. You can plant it on its own to enjoy its unique pendulous habit, which adds to its charm, or mix it with other low shrubs to create beautiful flowering hedges. Choose companions such as other buddleias ('Lochinch', 'Naho Blue', 'White Chip'), old or English roses (old rose Rosa Cuisse de Nymphe, Rosa Generosa Chantal Thomass rose), and repeat-flowering dwarf lilacs. It is welcome on terraces and balconies.

Buddleja alternifolia is named so because its leaves are arranged alternately on the branches. It produces a good amount of nectar, which will attract certain butterflies. Buddleia or Buddleja comes from the name of its discoverer, Reverend Adam Buddle, a 19th-century English botanist.