thanks
Buddleia BUZZ sky blue.
I purchased some buddleia buzz plants in June which were supposed to be sky blue. They weren't and Thompson and Morgan replaced them in August after making me wait two months to prove to them that they had sent me white ones - they fed me an excuse of something about the age of the plant, soil and weather conditions - nothing of which is mentioned on the growing advice on their website. I came home tonight to find amazingly one of the replacement plants had started flowering. Same soil as the white ones, same conditions, and planted less than 6 foot away from the white plants. These ones appear to be flowering deep purple. Thompson and Morgan have again tried to tell me they won't flower blue unless I have the right soil(john innes no3), weather conditions (we have a reasonably good summer!) etc. I was wondering if anyone can give me any advice on whether this is a load of rubbish and I should take them to task over it and if in your opinion they are just making excuses for not sending the right plants again....please is anyone able to help? I won't hold you to your answer, being a new person to this gardening malarky I just need advice.
thanks
thanks
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
I would think the difference between blooming sky blue and deep purple (a large difference) is genetic, not the conditions. However, I did find this:
Change the color of established butterfly bushes by transplanting to a new spot in the garden. Many varieties of butterfly bush will change color if not given optimum sunlight. If you want your bush to be vivid and colorful, plant in full sun. If you want your butterfly bush to exhibit pastel shades, plant in an area of partial shade. In shade, the plant produces white, pale pink or light lavender colored blooms. The butterfly bush, also known as summer lilac or orange-eye, can be planted in containers. Placed in a location with 6 or more hours of daily sun, they will develop brilliant, deeply-saturated colored flowers. Move the container to a shady location and new flowers will be muted to pale shades with subtle colors. The shape and size of the flower will remain the same, just the colors will change.
Amend the soil to change the color of the flowers. A butterfly bush produces the most intensely colored flowers when grown in nutrient rich soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. Buddleia davidii is very tolerant of heavy clay, high alkaline soils. Color development in the flowers in affected by nutrient content and pH levels in the soil. An application of dolomite lime or wood ash will raise the pH levels, while an application of granular sulfur lowers pH. Many ornamental flowers including hydrangeas, iris and hibiscus change colors dramatically when the pH level of the soil is modified. However, the change in a butterfly bush is subtle, yet clearly noticeable. If you have multiple butterfly bushes growing in the garden, it is fun to experiment by raising or lowering the pH level of individual bushes and making note of the results. To determine the pH of your soil, take a sample to your local county extension office for analysis.
Perk-up tired plants with pale blooms with an application of organic fertilizer. Cultivate aged herbivore manure (cow, goat, sheep, horse, lama) into the soil around the base of the plant and water well. As the manure decomposes and adds nutrients to the soil, the plant responds by producing flowers with saturated, vivid colors and intense fragrance.
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/make-butte ... 26430.html
A discussion here: https://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/united-ki ... hange.html suggests that buddleias can throw sports of different colors and revert to the original species color.
If I had to guess, I would think they just sent you the wrong plant, but I certainly can't swear to that.
Personally if I had to pick between pastel blue and deep purple, I would choose the purple every time!
So maybe now that you have a plant that is doing well and blooming already, you can live with the (beautiful) deep purple color? I had a yellow flowered one for awhile, and I replaced it with the deep purple, which has been a much more vigorous grower for me and is still blooming like crazy right now.
Change the color of established butterfly bushes by transplanting to a new spot in the garden. Many varieties of butterfly bush will change color if not given optimum sunlight. If you want your bush to be vivid and colorful, plant in full sun. If you want your butterfly bush to exhibit pastel shades, plant in an area of partial shade. In shade, the plant produces white, pale pink or light lavender colored blooms. The butterfly bush, also known as summer lilac or orange-eye, can be planted in containers. Placed in a location with 6 or more hours of daily sun, they will develop brilliant, deeply-saturated colored flowers. Move the container to a shady location and new flowers will be muted to pale shades with subtle colors. The shape and size of the flower will remain the same, just the colors will change.
Amend the soil to change the color of the flowers. A butterfly bush produces the most intensely colored flowers when grown in nutrient rich soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. Buddleia davidii is very tolerant of heavy clay, high alkaline soils. Color development in the flowers in affected by nutrient content and pH levels in the soil. An application of dolomite lime or wood ash will raise the pH levels, while an application of granular sulfur lowers pH. Many ornamental flowers including hydrangeas, iris and hibiscus change colors dramatically when the pH level of the soil is modified. However, the change in a butterfly bush is subtle, yet clearly noticeable. If you have multiple butterfly bushes growing in the garden, it is fun to experiment by raising or lowering the pH level of individual bushes and making note of the results. To determine the pH of your soil, take a sample to your local county extension office for analysis.
Perk-up tired plants with pale blooms with an application of organic fertilizer. Cultivate aged herbivore manure (cow, goat, sheep, horse, lama) into the soil around the base of the plant and water well. As the manure decomposes and adds nutrients to the soil, the plant responds by producing flowers with saturated, vivid colors and intense fragrance.
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/make-butte ... 26430.html
A discussion here: https://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/united-ki ... hange.html suggests that buddleias can throw sports of different colors and revert to the original species color.
If I had to guess, I would think they just sent you the wrong plant, but I certainly can't swear to that.
Personally if I had to pick between pastel blue and deep purple, I would choose the purple every time!
So maybe now that you have a plant that is doing well and blooming already, you can live with the (beautiful) deep purple color? I had a yellow flowered one for awhile, and I replaced it with the deep purple, which has been a much more vigorous grower for me and is still blooming like crazy right now.Thanks for your advice it's much appreciated I suspect they have sent the wrong plant as well. Purple is ok I like purple too but as most of my garden is this colour I just favoured the blue as I thought the mix would look nice and give a bit of contrast. If it wasn't for the fact they sent the wrong colour plants the first time too I wouldnt be so picky, now it's just the principle and the fact that I've paid for something I still haven't got.
I suspect they have sent the wrong plant as well. Purple is ok I like purple too but as most of my garden is this colour I just favoured the blue as I thought the mix would look nice and give a bit of contrast. If it wasn't for the fact they sent the wrong colour plants the first time too I wouldnt be so picky, now it's just the principle and the fact that I've paid for something I still haven't got.-
purpleinopp
- Green Thumb
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