A rare one

I've rather fond of buddlejas, though many of them are rather coarse and we're used to seeing seedling Buddleja davidii on derelict sites and old walls. I remember seeing them in London in the early 50s, covering the rubble in the many bombsites still around then. Fabulous for butterflies, of course, so I'll let them off!

This is one of the top of the range buddlejas though - Buddleja macrostachya, from a very wide area in the Far East -  from Tibet, through western China, Bhutan, Sikkim, northern India, Bangladesh and Myanmar to Thailand and Vietnam, growing in scrub on mountain slopes up to 3,200 m, and along rivers in forests. 


It's taken some years to build up a good woody framework, as it's quite brittle and often gets damaged in winter gales. It's just coming into flower now and it's going to be the best effort yet! It's growing just beside the garden entrance.