Is Buddleia Bad Despite RHS Awards?
Buddleia, or buddleja, isn’t dangerous in the usual ways.
It’s not poisonous to dogs, for example, but it has been designated a ‘noxious weed’ by the Royal Horticulture Society despite awarding the plant a Garden Merit Award many times since the late 1800’s.
Butterfly charities such as the BCB recommend planting butterfly bushes only in “proper areas” so that the invasive plant does not outperform local plants. Such as has happened to the ‘special area of scientific interest’ Folkestone Warren chalk grasslands in Kent.
Dead-heading, a process of removing dead flowers before they become seedheads, is the softest approach recommended by the RHS.
Harder approaches, taken by rail companies to remove the infrastructure-damaging plant, include digging up roots and spraying weedkillers on the site. A somewhat understandable yet sad outcome.
The out-of-control success of buddleia in the UK relies on its ability to produce many seeds during times other plants would either not spread as quickly or where other plants would be less aggressive to infrastructure.
Buddleia branches are long, flexible spears which:
Root if they touch soil,
Spread large quantities of seeds wherever they reach,
Harden into woody stems thickening enough to crack concrete
and
Constantly grow shoots from every part even in shady areas.
It’s easy to be worried. Many experts would say: rightly worried. But if grown in a controlled environment (the antithesis to a natural ecosystem) then buddleia is brilliant for butterflies,
or is it?
I thought so, from the obvious evidence that monarch butterflies love it. I have pictures to prove it. But it’s the not-so-obvious evidence that matters in the long term.
There are plenty of rarer butterfly species that are gradually losing their habitats to the fast-spreading buddleia, which itself needs no special habitat.
RHS Recommended Alternatives to Buddleia
The Royal Horticultural Society recommends a number of alternatives to buddleia.
Heathers
Lavenders
Thyme
Dogwood
Viburnums
Hebes
These, rather than hinder other plants, grow quite well as part of a diverse garden. One filled with a rainbow of fluttering (and not just the monarchs)
How to Manage Buddleigh
Perhaps you want a buddleja, despite the risk, or simply can’t bring yourself to remove such a charming plant.
Remove flowers once brown before they become seed heads
Cut back the buddleigh once it finishes flowering
Buddleia loves being cut back.
It’s extremely difficult to kill and will simply grow new shoots from even a small stump.