Buddleja Silver Anniversary Morning Mist
Buddleja Silver Anniversary
This dwarf Buddleja bred by nurseryman Peter Moore is creating a great deal of interest. Recently it has undergone a name change to (Morning Mist). Now perhaps its me, but I would have thought Silver Anniversary would have proven to be more commercial.
The very striking silver foliage is a result of a cross between buddleja crispa and buddleja loricata. The honey scented clusters of white flowers with a yellow/mustard eye attract the butterflies and bees. Flowering panicles are much shorter than on the more traditional Buddlejas.
Plant it in the mixed border, not too far back, the woolly silver foliage will make a great foil for the other plants and shrubs.
Morning Mist has proven to be fully hardy south of the border. When it was first introduced I planted it in the border of our Aberdeen garden. The plant was in a bit of a sorry state by the following Spring.
Because I was so fond of this Buddleja I purchased another and potted it up in a loam based soil, a decent sized container and over wintered in the unheated greenhouse. Perfect solution.
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Position – Full sun
Height – 90/100cm
Prune – April
Common name – Butterfly bush.
Flowering – July/Sept.
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Buddleja Black Knight
Here we have another beautiful Buddleja, Black Knight it has long trusses of fragrant dark purple blooms, the grey/green foliage is white and velvety on the underside. Buddlejas are very attractive to butterflies and bees and in late Summer I have seen more than a dozen red admirals on this plant. It is a tall shrub, growing to a height of 9ft. It is absolutely essential that you prune Buddlejas hard back in March to about four buds from ground level. Plant in fertile soil and in a position that gets full sun. In the Aberdeen area flowering time is likely to be August/September, in London I have seen it in full bloom in the first week of July.
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Buddleja Lochinch
The silvery green foliage of Lochinch is in itself very attractive, the lilac coloured blooms with an orange eye are indeed delightful. Lochinch is all in all a more compact plant and starts to flower a couple of weeks earlier than many of the others. Deadhead when the flowers have faded and you will very likely be rewarded with a second flush of flowers. Surprisingly, buddlejas perform really well in containers where they will not grow quite as tall.
(Mail order Lochinch)
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Thanks for dropping by Sandra
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Do some more research on pruning Buddleja before you go ahead Liz.
Hi there thanks for the interesting write up on this plant we bought it (or we think it is this one as we have lost the label) and planted it in a sunny position in our hampshire garden, my husband is convinced it shouldnt be pruned but it is very straggly and has dead leaves at the base of the plant so am hoping that it is this and that I can prune it in the spring. I feel like I want to photo it and let you see it.
hi alastair, i realize i have mistyped words in the above comment. it’s because i only have use of one hand at the moment. for foll read fill and i recently BOUGHT the 2 plants. cheers, cm
dear alistair, excited to read this post. i recently 2 silver anniversary buddleias in a corner that i was trying to foll for years. now i can’t wait till they grow big. cheers, catmint
They do get a poor press Edith, I have found that time brings fondness to some plants which don’t instantly appeal. I shall have to check out the ones which you mention.
Dear Alistair, I often think that Buddleja get such a poor press as people only think of them as growing wild on railway embankments or the like. I love the varieties you show here and have always been fond of Buddleja ‘Dartmoor’ [a wonderful colour but too large for my garden] and Buddleja alternifolia [such a graceful habit, but, again, rather large for my garden]. Oh, for the space to grow an army of them!
Donna, I also wonder if its lack of popularity is down to the fact that the plant is not fully hardy.
Holley, it may have something to do with the fact that the foliage is more special than the flowers.
I too have not been familiar with Silver Anniversary. I like that it is a dwarf plant. I will be looking for Morning Mist.
I’m very familiar with Black Knight, but have never seen Morning Mist. You would think a dwarf buddeleia would be a big hit!
Yes the morning mist foliage is indeed more special than the flowers are.
Yes Donna, the Buddlejas are a garden worthy plant, some of the experts here tell us that clay soil is not such a bad thing when managed. Mind you I have never had to manage it.
I absolutely love Buddleja and have many kinds but not Silver anniversary…I think it is fairly new here…although not a Native plant, the pollinators love these plants…sometime in April will be the time I hard prune …I have a whole grouping of these (5) of different colors on the side of my house and then I have others interspersed around the back gardens…they don’t like to be too wet but once established they can take moisture as long as they dry quickly and have sun…mine are in nasty clay soil and they seem content…
No wonder you love these Buddleja, the foliage are very attractive especially for the Morning Mist and the blooms are so lovely as in the Black Knight and Lochinch.
I guess I should make it clearer, it was first introduced under the name of Silver Anniversary. It has undergone a name change to Morning Mist.
That Buddleja Silver Anniversary Morning Mist is stunning! One for the wishlist!
And a very long name too 🙂