Buddleja davidii Harlequin - Butterfly Bush

Buddleja davidii 'Harlequin' is a medium-sized bush with a rounded and flexible habit. It is a particularly decorative and unique variety. Its foliage stands out with its variegated colouring, which is green edged with cream. It serves as a backdrop for long inflorescences of a sumptuous deep purple-red, exuding a fragrance that matches their colour: rich and intense, and visibly addictive to many butterflies. This flowering animates the whole summer. It is easy to grow in ordinary soil, even poor and occasionally dry soil. Buddlejas are often the centrepiece of large shrub borders and flowering hedges. This variety, with the beauty of its foliage, will be attractive for a long time, from spring to autumn.

Buddleja davidii 'Harlequin' is a deciduous to semi-evergreen bush belonging to the Scrophulariaceae (Buddlejaceae) family. This superb cultivar, obtained in England in 1964, comes from a mutation of the famous Buddleja davidii 'Royal Red' - itself derived from Buddleja davidii, also known as Father David's Buddleja or Changing Buddleja, a robust Chinese species that has become invasive in our climate.

'Harlequin' has a rounded and gracefully spreading habit, supported by arching branches. Fairly compact, it rarely exceeds 2 m (7 ft) in all directions within 7 or 8 years, depending on the growing conditions. It flowers from July to September to produce an abundance of dense panicles of flowers 25 to 35 cm (10 to 14 in) long. These flowers are purplish-violet with a reddish-orange eye and release a sweet fragrance, which is very attractive to pollinating insects. Its ornamental foliage is composed of long leaves with an irregular green-grey edge and a creamy-white margin, with the undersides covered in a greyish fuzz. The leaves, 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 in) long, are pointed and lanceolate. This hardy bush is resistant to urban pollution and does not suffer from occasional drought when planted in deep soil.

Whether planted individually or in groups, in a hedge, at the corner of a terrace, or at the back of a perennial border, Buddleja davidii 'Harlequin' will enhance the garden in a unique way. Its almost red inflorescences, animated by a constant flight of butterflies, are a spectacle in themselves. They also highlight the blue flowers of Ceanothus 'Gloire de Versailles', for example, or the mauve and white panicles of some summer lilacs. You can also plant it in a mixed hedge, with botanical roses, serviceberries, hawthorns, ornamental apple trees, or other prunus. It adapts well to coastal areas and can be grown in containers on a terrace. Its fragrant flowers are also very pretty in bouquets. You can combine this buddleja with tall grasses (Miscanthus, Panicum, Deschampsia), for an elegant contrast.