Buddleja ‘Longstock Gem’

Buddleja ‘Longstock Gem’ can be seen at Longstock Park Gardens, it is in the National Collection of Buddleja (bed by the summer house).

The first of the hardy Buddleja to flower three weeks before B alternifolia  in full flower

now 24th  of May 2018, attracting the early bees and butterflies. 

• A very hardy early flowering deciduous shrub
• Will grow in any well-drained soil
• Sun or shade
• Flowers in spring before B. alternifolia
• Has larger flowers than B. alternifolia with a scent.
• Attractive oak-shaped leaves that change to maroon and yellow in the autumn
• Excellent screening plant. The birds love it in my garden. In the winter they roost in it as it is close to the bird table.
• This is a sterile Buddleja  DOES NOT SEED.

Remove all the old flowering shoots before the end of June.  It pays to reduce the height by at least 50%, if left unpruned it will get very large.

Note the stems are excellent when used as plant supports and will last several seasons unlike Hazel, which is normally used by Gardeners and only last one season.