Buddleia 'Little Lila'

Buddlejas have a bit of a reputation for being thuggish self-seeders that you’ll see growing in even the most inhospitable of places, whether this be a roadside, wall or even a crack in the pavement. While this may be true for some species, it is not the case for buddleia Butterfly Candy ‘Little Lila’. With the clue being in its name, this cultivar has been especially bred to be a compact, dense shrub, perfect for smaller spaces, and ideal for city living. 

Absolutely smothered with a mass of lilac flowers from mid-summer to late-autumn, this little buddleia not only provides a hit of colour and a honey scent but is also one of the best plants to encourage pollinators, be they butterflies, hover flies, honey or bumble bees. Given that it flowers later into the year, it keeps some colour when other plants are dying back and extends the food source for our nectar-loving friends. 

Originating from more temperate regions of the world means that these shrubs are fully hardy in the UK, putting up with our cold, dark, wet winters. They are fast growing and low maintenance. To keep them healthy and promote flowering, we do encourage you to prune them once a year in late spring, cutting back all the stems that have previously flowered to three or four nodes from the main stem. Cut just above a node, which are the growing points that look like notches all the way up the stems. Leaves and side shoots emerge from these points. If you’re growing your plant in a pot, we also suggest feeding it a slow release granular plant food in late spring. If growing it in the ground, give it a mulch with compost in autumn, spreading a thick layer around the base of the main stem. 

Did you know?

The more sun your buddleia gets, the more nectar it will produce. Light and heat stimulates the nectaries - the flower glands that produce this sweet substance so sought after by pollinators.