Buddleja ‘Pride of Longstock’

“Yet another great plant from Peter Moore at Longstock Park, also called B. ‘Longstock Pride’. The same cross as the rare B. ‘Pride of Hever’ which it closely resembles. The leaves are like B. lindleyana but slightly serrated. The typical Buddleja flowers are bright purple in open panicles and have retained some of the fine B. crispa scent. It dies down in winter but bursts into life in March.

Andrew Large
 The Buddleja Garden

Buddleja ‘Hever Pride’ is a cultivar of Buddleja crispa and B. lindleyana raised at Hever Castle Gardens, Edenbridge, Kent, in 1958.

I did this cross in 1999 at the time not knowing it had been crossed 40 years earlier. B. ‘Pride of Longstock’ 

• Any well-drained soils with added compost
• Hard prune at the end of March to 30cm.  Feed Vitax Q4 at the end of May
• Prefers a sunny situation
• Hardy to –18°C
• Does not set seed, sterile with no pollen
• Free of most pests
• Water in very hot dry summers
• Large flowers from mid August until October
• Removing the dead flowers, makes the plant look better and you get more flowers
• Last year I saw a Humming bird Hawk moth on B. ‘Pride of Longstock’