buddleia Black Knight 1

Is that the one you took out of a container Fran?

yes, Dorjac: noticed it was looking a bit sad, so unpotted it - the roots had reached the bottom of the pot and were tangling around, so I moved it to give it more space. Not sure how it's supposed to look at this time of year, maybe it's still thinking about it.

It will prefer it's feet in the ground Fran and they can look pretty tired looking once they've finished flowering.
Cut back in spring when the new growth starts to keep it to a reasonable size. I find here they make a good 4 or 5 feet. If you keep dead heading, you will extend the flowering period too. The later you cut back, the later in the year the flowers will be.
This is useful up here as butterflies don't start appearing until September.

Thanks Scottish - I wzsn't sure if it were reacting to being moved or to the season. I've been collecting links here and there for "care of" various plants, it's abou ttime I collated them and actually read them!

Hope, you are not allergic to bees, as this is a strong attractant to those.

tnat's the reason I got it, Kat! well, it's called "Butterfly Bush", but no objection to bees diving in - so long as I leave them alone they should leave me alone (she said with her fingers crossed). But the bees were all over the geraniums earlier this year and didn't bother me at all - apart from not keeping still while I took their portrait!

Oh, well, be the Bee Queen then.

I find that the Buddlea I have (which is a deep red) seems not to attract so many insects, that I notice. The best, by far, in our garden is Bonariensis. It blooms forever and the bees love it. Bees seem to like tiny flowers. I suppose they get lots of nectar without lots of energy wasting flight. Buddlea can get really out of control rather quickly once established.

thanks Dorjac, I'll check that one out. yes, smaller flowers would mean more nectar and less hassle