Butterfly Bush, Birthday Cake Buddleia 'PODvb3-30' Height: 5 feet Spread: 3 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 5a Other Names: Summer Lilac Brand: Bloomin' Easy Description: Long, fragrant, pinkish purple flower spikes stand straight up like candles on a cake; compact, easy to grow, and attracts pollinators; may treat as a perennial and cut it back to the ground each spring as it regrows vigorously and blooms on new wood Ornamental Features Butterfly Bush, Birthday Cake features showy panicles of fragrant purple flowers with hot pink overtones at the ends of the branches from early summer to mid fall, which emerge from distinctive deep purple flower buds. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It has green deciduous foliage. The serrated narrow leaves do not develop any appreciable fall color. Landscape Attributes Butterfly Bush, Birthday Cake is an open multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition. This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics. Butterfly Bush, Birthday Cake is recommended for the following landscape applications; Planting & Growing Butterfly Bush, Birthday Cake will grow to be about 5 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years. This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. This plant should be periodically fertilized throughout the active growing season with a specially-formulated acidic fertilizer. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. Butterfly Bush, Birthday Cake makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.
