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Black Knight Butterfly Bush

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Black Knight Butterfly Bush (Buddleja davidii ‘Black Knight’) -A tall garden plant with dark purple flowers in late summer when little else blooms, and attracts butterflies; may treat as a perennial and cut it back to the ground each spring as it regrows vigorously and blooms on new wood

Characteristics

Average Landscape Height:
5 feet
Average Landscape Width:
5 feet
Growth Rate:
fast
Genus:
Buddleia
Species:
davidii
Cultivar:
Black Knight
Flower Color:
dark purple
Flower Period:
from mid summer to mid fall
Summer Foliage Color:
gray green
Minimum Light:
full sun
Maximum Light:
full sun
Minimum Moisture:
dry
Maximum Moisture:
moist
Plant Form:
upright spreading
Canopy:
leggy
Pruning:
late winter pruning
Pollution Tolerance:
high
Other Species Names:
Summer Lilac
Branching:
multi-stemmed
Density:
open
Flower Eye Color:
black
Flower Fragrance:
high

Ornamental Features

Black Knight Butterfly Bush features showy panicles of fragrant deep purple flowers with black eyes at the ends of the branches from mid summer to mid fall. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It has grayish green deciduous foliage. The fuzzy narrow leaves do not develop any appreciable fall color.

Landscape Attributes

Black Knight Butterfly Bush 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.

Planting & Growing

Black Knight Butterfly Bush will grow to be about 5 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 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 should only be grown in full sunlight. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations, and should do just fine under average home landscape conditions. 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. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Black Knight Butterfly Bush 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.

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