Butterfly lovers watch out: If you like watching the butterflies, you should plant a buddleia in your garden. The fast-growing and lushly flowering shrub not only brings color to the green, but also attracts numerous butterflies. If you don't have a garden, simply plant the shrub with the long flower spikes in a pot.
How do I plant and care for a buddleia in a pot?
A buddleia in a pot needs a sunny location, a deep planter (at least 40 cm) and a lean, permeable substrate. Care for the plant by watering it regularly, fertilizing every two weeks, removing dead flowers and packing it up for winter before the first frost.
The most beautiful mini buddleias for the pot
However, not all varieties are suitable for keeping in containers. Both Buddleja davidii and Buddleja alternifolia, the two most commonly cultivated types of buddleia, grow up to an average of three meters high and two meters wide - far too large for a classic container, and the bushes also grow very quickly. However, there are a number of specially bred dwarf buddleias that only grow to a height of 150 centimeters and are therefore just right for a planter:
- 'Purple Emperor': purple-violet flowers
- ‘Buzz ® Violet’: light purple flowers, slightly overhanging shoots
- 'Summer Lounge': blooms in white, pink or purple, only up to 60 centimeters high
In addition, there are species that are not winter-hardy and remain smaller and can only be kept in pots anyway. These promise a special eye-catcher on the balcony and terrace: Look out for the ball buddleia (Buddleja globosa) and the yellow buddleia (Buddleja x weyeriana) in the garden center.
Planting and caring for buddleia
So that the buddleia feels comfortable as a container plant, it needs a suitable location. A bright, sunny and warm place is ideal. If necessary, you can also place the plant in light shade, but there it will not bloom as profusely and for a long time as in a full sun spot.
Choosing the right planter
Even a mini buddleia needs space, so the planter should be at least 40 centimeters in diameter and depth. If possible, choose clay, ceramic or similar as the material.etc., so that the roots do not heat up in the hot summer sun - especially cool clay pots. Plastic pots, on the other hand, are rather unsuitable.
Substrate
Classic, pre-fertilized flower or pot plant soil (€18.00 on Amazon) is too rich for buddleia. However, if you mix this with expanded clay and/or gravel in a ratio of 1:1, the substrate should be lean and permeable enough. A few centimeters thick drainage layer at the bottom of the pot is also important to prevent waterlogging.
Potting buddleia
If you bought the buddleia as a container plant, you can basically pot it all year round. The best way to do this is as follows:
- Clean the planter carefully.
- Place a pottery shard over the drain hole at the bottom.
- This prevents clogging with substrate.
- Now fill in a few centimeters of expanded clay.
- This is followed by the mixed substrate, about halfway up the pot.
- Carefully remove the plant from the container.
- Gently shake off the old, clinging soil.
- Check the plant, especially the roots, for injuries.
- Plant the buddleia in its new container.
- Fill in the additional substrate and press it well.
- Tap the bottom of the pot a few times on a hard surface, e.g. B. on the table.
- This will also fill in the gaps.
- Water the buddleia well.
Properly care for buddleia as a container plant
When it comes to care, please note these instructions:
- Water regularly, but avoid getting wet.
- Provide with liquid container plant fertilizer every two weeks.
- Remove faded flowers regularly.
- Wrap the pot for winter before the first frost.
- Place the plant on a heat-radiating house wall to overwinter.
- Cool but bright wintering in the house is also possible.
Tip
In late winter - around the end of March / beginning of April - Buddleja davidii is cut back heavily, as this species only flowers on the new shoots.