Buddleia 'Podaras #13'

Buddleia ‘Podaras 13’ Tutti Fruitti in July 2014 on 60% of ET_o. Photo: SK Reid.

Summary

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.

This violet pink dwarf butterfly bush had a low, somewhat fountain-form habit and reached a height of 2’ 2” (66 cm) with a spread of 4’ 7” (141.6 cm) at the end of two years. All plants were cut back in December and January and deadheaded in June and July. There were no significant differences between treatments in the size of the plants, but the average foliage ratings were significantly better on the highest irrigation treatment. The leaves, which have very gray undersides, had a habit of rolling up during very warm weather, which detracted from the appearance of the plant while affording it a water conservation mechanism. For this reason, the highest overall appearance ratings are during the cooler weather of early spring and fall. Only the 80% treatment had an average annual foliage rating above 4.0; all other treatments were below that.  The amount of bloom was also highest at this level and in July on all treatments, and the plant was very pretty in full bloom in July.  The low PGIs at the 60% level seen in Table 6 are more reflective of breakage caused by wild turkeys to two of the plants on this treatment, rather than on direct effects of this irrigation level.

Buddleia ‘Podaras 13’ in October 2014 on 80% of ET0. Photo: SK Reid.