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Buddleia davidii 'Distant Castle'
Butterfly Bush
Plant Type:
DECIDUOUS SHRUBSBuddleia davidii 'Distant Castle' - This is essentially the purple species but with an extra-large inflorescence in a lovely purple shade. As seen in the pictures with Lucille doing the honors this first flower of the season has reached 27 inches already but continues to stretch and lengthen. Also seen in accompanying picture #4 cutting grown young shrubs in containers consistently exhibit especially large, unusually broad inflorescence composed of densely set florets not unlike a purple version of 'White Profusion' but possibly even fatter. This plant seeded itself in the spot where Lucille shows off the mother shrub which is very rich, fertile and moisture retaining ground in about two-thirds of a day of sunlight. Extremely happy, we do not know if in conditions less to its liking that it would perform as well. It was still in glorious bloom on Saturday, October 17 in 2015, the day before our first freeze when we plummeted to 26F by Sunday morning. The point is that the potential is there for a plant with enormous purple turrets that is a magnet for butterflies filling the August into October garden with its amazing flowers. It is also, as with this species, delightfully fragrant. Secondary panicles are not as large as is true for all B. davidii cultivars but those that herald in the season are mind blowing. As we are at the northern end of the range for Buddleia davidii we prune our shrubs down to about 12 inches in the late autumn or early spring because in most years the stems die to near the base of the shrub... but no worries as it blooms like crazy annually on new wood. In the north expect shrubs which may grow between 6 to 9 feet each season. Farther south if the old wood survives the winter and no pruning is exacted shrubs may reach as tall as 15 feet. Full sun in fertile ground. Spring planting advised in the north. Established shrub grown from cutting.
Characteristics and Attributes for Buddleia davidii 'Distant Castle'
Season of Interest (Flowering)
- Late Summer into Autumn
Season of Interest (Foliage)
- Spring / Summer / into Autumn
Nature Attraction
- Deer Resistant
- Butterflies
Light
- Mostly Sunny
- Full Sun
Attributes
- Border
- Wildlife Garden
- Fragrant
- Accent
- Shrub Border
- Specimen
- Hedgerow
Growth Rate in the Garden
- Moderately Fast
Soil
- Fertile
Origins
- Garden Origin
Propagated By
- Cutting Grown