Buddleia Progress Report. 6.29.14

Buddleia "Blueberry Cobbler".  6.29.14

Buddleia "Miss Molly".  6.29.14

Buddleia "Miss Ruby".  6.29.14

The sterile buddleias are starting to bloom.

As described in earlier posts, sterile buddleias are complex  hybrids between Buddleia davidii and other species.  They have the advantage of being sterle, so do not produce seeds.  For that reason, the sterile hybrids are legal in  this SPring Oregon and Washington.  I did see some Buddleia davidii at Lowes, and walked past it a few times, beautiful dark purple.  But as an environmentally oriented gardener, I couldn't bring myself to buy it.  The B. davidii are highly invasive.  The sterile hybrids do not set seed, so are not invasive.  Despite being sterile, some varieties are highly vigorous, while others are much more restrained.

In their 2nd year, the varieties "Peach Cobbler" and "Blueberry Cobbler" are 7 feet tall, and equally wide.  Also in their 2nd year, "Miss Ruby" is about 4 feet tall, and "Miss Molly" is about 3 feet tall.  The most compact is "Blue Chip", which is about 18 inches tall.

Bloom order:  "Miss Molly" was first, mid June.  "Miss Ruby" was 2nd, late June.  "Blueberry Cobbler" followed close behind, late June.  "Peach Cobbler" is about to bloom, probably 1st week of July.  "Blue Chip" does not have buds yet.  Not a fair comparison, because I let that bed go wild while I was recuperating from surgery, and only this spring pulled out the competing weeds.  It has made a resurgence of growth, but had a late start.

These buddleias are the fastest of all my shrubs to grow and establish.  They are one of the few that deer and rabbits don't touch.  They don't seem to be affected by any insects.  Bumblebees forage the flowers.  I'm not sure about honeybees - so far, there is minimal if any honeybee activity.   The more compact varieties look ideal for smaller gardens, and the more vigorous varieties look ideal for privacy hedge.

Buddleia. Progress Report. Freeze damage. Buddleia. 2.16.14

Buddleia globosa.  Freeze Killed Growth.

Buddleia Blueberry Cobbler.  Winter Appearance.

This is the first winter here for Buddleias.  They are between evergreen and deciduous.  I can't decide if the near-dead appearance is better or worse than bare twigs of deciduous shrubs.

The Buddleia globosa may well be fully dead.  I think it's the only Buddleia that looks truly dead.  I'll leave it in place until there is a chance for some regeneration.  I have a back-up  plant if it is dead.

The leaves of Blueberry Cobbler have a silvery appearance.  Depending on the sun, they look nice.  Other times they look sad.  I think it was like this last year, as were the other Buddleias.  When Spring came, they grew quickly.

Buddleias after the freeze

Buddleia globosa

Buddleia hybrids, Peach Cobbler and Blueberry Cobbler

Buddleias are partially hardy. I've read in cold winter climates, the tops are killed.  They grow back rapidly from the roots, so act as perennials.

Here they are usually a large woody shrub. 

I wondered with the big freeze, whether they would die to the ground.

Most of the large summer leaves were frost damaged.  Many were shed.  The smaller, axillary bud leaves still look OK.

I don't know if the complex hybrids have been tested in such a cold winter.  It will be interesting to see what they do.

Similar for Buddleia globosa.

Buddleia review

Buddleia "Miss Ruby"

Buddleia "Peach Cobbler"

Buddleia "Peach cobbler"

 I might have a love/hate thing going with Buddleia.  This winter/spring I bought and planted several. It took some effort to find the "legal", "horticulturally politically correct" varieties.  By that I mean, legal to buy and grow, noninvasive, non-see bearing intergeneric hybrids.  These are patented so can't be grown from cuttings.

My goal was to have a fast growing shrub with nectar bearing flowers for insects and hummingbirds.  Especially honeybees.

Online photos of buddleia flowers are usually cropped or pruned to show the pretty, but not the ugly.  There is a lot of pretty but also a lot of ugly.

As the flowers fade, they turn brown.  They brown from the start to the end, over what seems to be a few weeks.  That leaves a choice:  Deadhead, which removes a lot of 'fresh' flower too, or leave the flower on the plant until it's totally brown, which is not attractive.

These photos show the "pretty", except for the bottom photo that shows the "ugly" too.

I will deadhead them.  There should be lots of new flowers following deadheading.

In my garden, the "Cobbler" type buddleias ("Peach Cobbler" and "Blueberry Cobbler") seem to grow much faster and look more weedy, compared to the "Miss" type buddleias (Miss Molly and Miss Ruby).  The flowers on the "Miss" buddleias are more compact and richer in color.

Buddleia "Blueberry Cobbler"

Bumblebees often visit the buddleias.  I haven't seen honeybees on them at all.

Buddleia "Peach Cobbler"

Hummingbirds also visit them.

Buddleia planted last week.

Buddleia X Blueberry Cobbler

This was a TLC plant on the deck.  It grew rapidly and came into bloom before it's in-ground siblings.

Just one problem.  This was sold ad "Peach Cobbler"  From the photos on line, it's really "Blueberry Cobbler" - not nearly as much to my liking.

Still maybe it will provide some nectar.  It was wilting rapidly in the container.

I planted it in the ground last weekend.  In-ground, the roods should spread further, the moisture is not as confined, and the roots are in relatively cooler ground, so it won't be as much effort to water until established.  Once established, it should almost never need watering.

Gave it some compost and mulch.  

So far I've seen bumblebees and butterflies on the buddleias, but not honeybees.

Butterflies love Buddleia

 Buddleia X "Blueberry Cobbler"

Buddleia X "Blueberry Cobbler"

Buddleia sterile hybrid "Blueberry Cobbler" just beginning to bloom.  The flowers are uch larger compared to "Miss Molly" and "Miss Ruby" with the difference that those 2 varieties were bough in bud this Spring, while the Blueberry Cobbler was bought during the winter, with the blossoms on new growth.  I've seen a few bumblebees on these Buddleia but no honeybees, yet.

Buddleia first flower

Buddleia hybrid "Blueberry Cobbler"

 Buddleia X "Blueberry Cobbler".  Sterile, noninvasive, compact, and legal.

First flower.  I've been nursing this plant since January.  It was a hold-over at Portland Nursery.

Most web pics are close up of the flower, without much context of the plant itself.  The color is difficult to photograph.  Many web pics crop off the flower tip.  It's better to show the entire flower.  And the plant for context.

Buddleia hybrid  "Blueberry Cobbler"

Very fragrant.

Unfortunately last weekend this plant blew off the deck.  It was light.  In a container, it dries out quickly.  The fall broke some stems.  Even so I'm happy with the result.  The broken stems will be better in the long run.  Pruning encourages bushiness.

Flower really is reminiscent of lilac.

I have one of the same variety, in-ground at the Battleground place.  It's about one week behind this containerized TLC plant.

Apiary garden. Shrubs for pollen and nectar.

Sterile buddleia hybrid "Miss Molly"

 I decided not to add more shrubs.  Then I needed something for my mood.  These are chosen as potential sources of nectar and pollen for honeybees and native pollinators.

The sterile buddleia hybrids are noninvasive and are available in nurseries in Portland OR and in Vancouver WA.  They replace the now illegal-Buddleia davidii varieties, which are invasive and rangy.

"Miss Molly" was bought in bloom.  I had it on my deck for a week.  The current flowers are about spent, so I planted it.  This, and the others, should bloom most of the summer and fall.  If we can believe the nursery ads.

"Miss Ruby" is the pollen parent of "Miss Molly".  Both are complex hybrids of multiple species of buddleia.  This plant was not in bud yet when I planted it last month, and is just beginning to bloom.

"Peach Cobbler" and "Blueberry Cobbler" are also sterile complex hybrids.  These plants look the same.  They were hold-overs from last year at the nursery.  I bought and planted them midwinter.  They have more than doubled in size.   Vigorous.  No flower buds yet.

Ceanothus thyrsiflorus "Victoria".  Not many honeybees on this.  The Ceanothus on the neighboring property was filled with honeybee activity, but now there aren't many.  More bumblebees and native bees.

Weigela florida "Lemon Ice"  A pale yellow weigela.  Impulse buy.  That, along with the ceanothus and Feijoa, were the result of my feeling ill.   Better now.  Fortunately there was room for all of these in the apiary yard and orchard.

Sterile buddleia hybrid "Miss Ruby"

Sterile bulldeia  hybrid "Peach Cobbler"

Ceanothus

Weigela "Lemon Ice"