If you're looking for a dark flowered shrub here's your answer! Buddleia davidii Black Knight is the darkest buddleia (also spelled buddleja and, historically, buddlea) you can get, a lovely deep, grape-purple with orange centres. It is a large and vigorous, spreading, deciduous shrub with arching branches holding numerous long and slender panicles of honey-scented flowers throughout the summer. The leaves are long and lance-shaped, silvery-green maturing to pale green, with silver-white undersides.
Buddleias produce copious nectar, and are therefore extremely attractive to pollinating insects like butterflies and bees, which is why they are known popularly as the butterfly bush. The flowers form on this year's growth, which is vigorous; cut the plant right to the ground in spring to keep the stems from getting woody and limit the growth to around 150cm.
Pot Size: 3L
Common Name: Butterfly Bush Black Knight
Hardiness: Hardy to –20°C
Height and Spread: 400cm x 400cm over 10 years
Preferred Soil Type: Any well drained or moist but well drained
Aspect: South, east or west facing, exposed or sheltered
Position: Full sun / Partial shade
Flowering Period: July – September
Care: Cut down to the ground each spring. Deadhead to avoid unwanted seedlings.