South Wales, UK - What Is The Buddleia Plant?

Buddleia, also known as butterfly bush, is an invasive plant species that can crowd out native plants and disrupt natural ecosystems. If you have Buddleia in your garden, there are a few things you can do to get rid of it or control it as it can quickly spread and take over.

How do you identify Buddleia?

The Buddleia is a fast-growing, deciduous shrub that can reach up to 4 metres in height. It has an open, airy habit and produces an abundance of showy flowers in shades of purple, pink, or white from mid-summer to early fall. Buddleia is a popular choice for butterfly gardens as it attracts many different species of butterflies.

Buddleia can be easily propagated from cuttings taken from new growth in late spring or early summer. Cuttings should be taken at 6-8 inches long and planted immediately in moist soil. Once established, the Buddleia requires little care other than occasional watering during extended periods of drought. However, be extremely cautious as it is known as a nuisance weed and will quickly grow out of control.

It is a tough and adaptable shrub that is tolerant of a wide range of growing conditions, including full sun or partial shade, poor soils, and urban pollution. In fact, the Buddleia is often used as a street tree or foundation planting due to its ability to thrive in difficult growing conditions, making it difficult to stop growing once it has started.

Buddleia is sometimes referred to as an invasive species as it is known to have spread throughout the UK rail network by its wind-borne seeds and the low-pressure drag created by trains. It can set root anywhere but it typically seeks areas such as quarries, urban wastelands, railways, gravel workings, and building sites. It can cause structural damage if there are cracks or unstable areas of concrete and it can set its roots in pavements, chimneys, brickwork, pipework and foundations as it can find the smallest cracks much like Japanese Knotweed. If this happens, its roots have the strength to through and crack structures and materials manmade and natural.

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How does it spread?

Buddleia davidii, commonly known as butterfly bush, is a species of flowering plant in the figwort family (Scrophiariaceae), that is native to China. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions around the world where winter is hardy. It flowers profusely from late spring to early autumn, with smaller flower panicles continuing into late autumn.

The flowers are rich sources of nectar for many butterflies and other insects. The caterpillars of some moths also feed on the leaves, including those of the day-flying crepuscular Burnished Brass (Udea ferrugalis). In addition, several bees visit Buddleja flowers for pollen, including large carpenter bees; small solitary bees such as Andrena flavipes also collect nectar but not pollen.

Why remove it?

Buddleia is known as a problem in the UK as it outgrows and takes over native plants for its own resources, alters local ecosystems, and provides little food or shelter for native wildlife.

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