National Plant Collection holder creates a unique new bi-coloured butterfly bush
New buddleias have been flooding nurseries and garden centres recently and sometimes it’s tough to tell one from another. But here’s one that’s genuinely different from every other buddleia on the market.
In each spike Buddleja Berries and Cream (‘PMOORE14’) produces a mixture of bicoloured florets*, white florets and purple florets to create a sparkling effect.
Bicoloured florets are in the majority, although sometimes on the first flush one or two of the flower spikes may be less variegated, on the whole the colouring is remarkably consistent.
Buddleja Berries and Cream was developed in Hampshire by plant breeder Peter Moore, who’s raised many impressive new shrubs and perennials in recent years. He told me how it came about.
“About ten years ago I found a variegated flower on a plant of Buddleja‘Royal Red’. I self-pollinated and saved the seeds” Peter explained. “After extensive trials of the seedlings, I selected the seedling that has been named Berries and Cream (‘PMOORE14’).”
I’ve never seen or heard of a buddleia like this before so I asked Peter if it’s unique. “There’s a lot of buddleia breeding is going on in USA and EU at the moment and many new cultivars are introduced every year. But although I’ve seen spikes with one or two bicoloured florets I’ve never seen a variegated flower marketed and as Keeper of the National Buddleia Collection at Longstock Park in Hampshire I believe this is the world first.”
You can order plants of Buddleja Berries and Cream (‘PMOORE14’) from Crocus and from Garden Beauty.
*Floret: one of the small flowers making up a composite flowerhead.
**Please note, the contents of this blog reflect the views of its author which are not necessarily those of the RHS.
23rd April 2019
