Bicolor Butterfly Bush

Photo: Audreyjm529

While experimentation continues, Bicolor Butterfly Bush was the first to have a successful fusion of multiple colors within one flower truss. This page describes those unusual hybrids that have remained on the commercial market.

Hybrid varieties starting with bicolor butterfly bush:

Buddleia x Weyeriana bi-color - The combination of Buddliea genus wayeriana 'Honeycomb' crossed with the Common Buddliea davidii. Horticulturists familiar with experimentation revel with this successful experiment out of the University of Georgia by Dr. Michael Dirr, especially since the 'Honeycomb' buddleja genus is virtually sterile.

Flowers are a combination of

* Bluish to lavender
* Peach into light pink, raspberry to orange
* Softer yellow occurs as bloom ages.

Panicles grow up to 10 inches (25.4 cm). The shrub itself grows up to 8 feet tall (2.4 m) to a spread of 5 feet wide (1.5 m). Preferring mostly sun, it is fragrant with gray-green foliage.

As with most Buddlia, this will grow in just about all kinds of soils, regardless of soil pH.

Although infrequent, this has sometimes been called the Rainbow Butterfly Bush.

As with the majority of Buddleia genus, these hybrids create flowers to attract butterflies but they are also great hummingbird plants and other pollinators.

Winter climates should treat buddleia species and hybrids as perennial plants. These and all butterfly bushes favor growing in planting zones 4-9 and many are also deer resistant. Should you find those that aren't, try some homemade deer repellent.

3 in 1 - Rather than each flower panicle having a multiple blend of colors like the bi-color, trusses of the 3 in 1 butterfly bush are solid in color.

There are 3 different colors radiating from one shrub is as a result of combining 3 different genus together, one being the common B. davidii. Color blooms vary depending on soil pH, but overall range anywhere from:

* Light to dark purple
* Magenta
* White

Foliage is grayish-silver to grayish-green. This deciduous shrub grows up to 9 feet (2.74 m).

Some hybrids have a pastel flow of colors on the individual flowers making the panicles very lovely to see.

Photo: Wikimedia

Varieties include:

Buddliea x B. weyeriana x Moonlight
Buddliea 'Salmon spheres' (Hybrid of B. globosa x B. crispa)
Buddliea 'Winter sun' (Hybrid of B. nappii x B. officinalis)

FYI:

The orange eye are various buddliea that have a variety of flower colors and in the center is the distinctive color of orange, sometimes yellow eyes.
Also, the butterfly information page provides details of their habitat and more. Adult butterflies are very attracted to buddleia, especially Buddleia davidii species.

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