Interesting for both fanatics and non-fanatics.

Thanks for sharing x

I'm just getting hooked on Buddlejas and have 7, 2 long-standing and 5 I put in last year. No really exotic ones (yet) but they are all quite happy and growing like the clappers. I was pleased to see your B. glomerata because the son of a neighbour gave me what he described as cuttings from 'a big bush in his garden with yellow flowers' he is definitely not a gardener and apart from the fact that I knew it was a Bud. I was unable to identify it further. So thank you, most interesting.

The sad thing is that so many Buddlejas are tender. We struggle to keep even some of the hardy ones going. I would like the one which grows against a south facing wall at Powys Castel Gardens. Lovely silvery, fur covered leaves. The name escapes me at present.

Sounds like B. agathosma which I have seen at several big houses and gardens. I am high up in the West Midlands on clay soil so it is a real challenge to keep the more tender ones alive. Big pots and a greenhouse for the winter is often the only answer.

Having just looked through the David Stuart book on Buddleja we reckon the one at Powys is B. nivea. Supposedly hardy too. Also just seen our B. alternifolia in flower, and found B. lindleyana, hidden in the weeds. Whoops.
Have you ever seen the fabulous standard B. alternifolia at Hidcote?

B.nivea is the furriest of the lot! I have just started this one and it is about to flower - supposed to be hardy but it hasn't enjoyed the rain. The usual species stays smallish when pruned but the 'yunnanensis' variety grows really big.
I haven't seen the standard alternifolia at Hidcote. I was going to grow mine as a standard but then opted to train it over an arch as I haven't seen this done before. I have the 'argentea' variety one side but that grows too slow to be an effective partner to the common plant.

I have a great one called Black Knight, very hardy and it gets huge even when it's been cut right back in the spring and the bees etc love it!

Oh goody Pam. That is one of my new ones.