OPINIONS ON BUDDLEJA NEW DWARF HYBRIDS

I wonder how many people have actually grown the new Buddleja hybrids that are currently in the catalogues. I have been growing 'Rocketstar', 'Flutterby', 'Dreaming' and quite a few others. For the most part, they are awful. Poor performance and often lacking in any disease resistance.

For example, I had a look at 'Rocketstar Flamingo' yesterday and every bud has been destroyed by nematode. It’s stunted and will never flower. I have 'High Five Purple' in a pot, and the leaves, even in summer, get a fungal infection and drop off; the flowers are poor and only a few truly doubled. 'Purple Chip' is 2 metres tall, ugly and produces a handful of sickly purple flowers at the end of September. I could go on and on about how terrible most of the 'Flutterby' range has proved to be. Most died within a few years, and the related 'Dreaming' plants barely grew at all.

I don’t know why the nurseries keep propagating them, although they stock new varieties every year, replacing the previous ones found to be unworthy of cultivation.

The latest – 'Butterfly Candy' – are retailing at £20 a plant. I’ve seen these locally, and they’re weak, with poor flowers and I can’t see them surviving long. The nurseries obviously hope customers will buy a new one every year, whereas I would expect a Buddleja to last thirty years.

Some are better – I’d say the 'Buzz' series, 'Red Chi'p and 'Purple Splendour' have been okay. None of these are super-dwarf, although they’re less vigorous than average.

So, I’d like to ask opinions on these miniature Buddleja hybrids, and whether other people have found them disappointing.