Buddleia x 'SMNBDBT'

Summary

South Coast Research & Extension Center (South Coast REC/SCREC) is located in Irvine California, this site has a sandy loam soil and plants are irrigated with reclaimed water. UC Davis is located in Davis, California, this site has a silty clay loam soil and plants are irrigated with potable water. More information about the field sites is located in the Nuts & Bolts section.

Pugster Blue^® is a medium-sized, symmetrical, compact form of butterfly bush whose green leaves have grey-green undersides. Cone-shaped panicles of pale purple flowers are borne late spring to fall, and as with all butterfly bushes, the most impressive flush of bloom comes first. In Davis, the big flush appeared in late June through July followed by significant flower coverage in August and blooms through October (Photos 1a-b). In Irvine, the first big flush came in June followed by modest blooms through July, though there were always some open flowers through October (Photo 1c). Close inspection reveals rich orange corolla tubes on each individual flower (Photo 1d). These flowers are fragrant, producing a honey-like scent that is noticeable when close to the plant, especially during the big flush early in the cooler morning hours. The prolific blooming leaves masses of spent flower spikes which some might find objectionable. Retention of spent flowers did not negatively impact ratings collected by trials staff in the long run, as the dark color of the spent flowers tended to blend into the foliage rather than competing with blooming flowers. If desired, periodic deadheading could be performed in the landscape to remove spent blooms.  

Pugster Blue^® performed beautifully in the Davis heat and received high marks for overall appearance throughout the season on all treatments, earning it our Blue Ribbon™ award for very good performance on low water in Davis. In Irvine Overall Appearance scores peaked in June with a slow decline in July. These trends also appeared in the foliage quality and pest resistance scores with foliage testing the threshold of unacceptability in the October ratings in Irvine (Table 8b). Vigor ratings at both sites remained high throughout the duration of the deficit period. Interestingly, in Irvine higher vigor scores were observed in the less frequently irrigated treatments. Since no significant differences in the growth rate (Figures 1a and 1c) or Overall Appearance ratings between treatments occurred at either site, we recommend Pugster Blue be irrigated on low water in WUCOLS zones 2 and 3. 

Growth and Quality Data

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Buddleia × 'SMNBDBT' Pugster Blue® close up in August 2020.

Buddleia × 'SMNBDBT' Pugster Blue® still blooming at South Coast REC in October 2020 on low irrigation.