Buddleja curviflora

 
A very attractive and non-suckering relative of B.lindleyana with similar curved violet flowers but more attractive grey fawn felted foliage.

Hardy and adaptable.
£16

Buddleja speciosissima

A splendid species from southern Brazil with long tubular orange red flowers in summer. The foliage is also long and narrow, to about 8ins long, 2ins wide, and heavily felted white beneath and on the stems. 

So far this has not been at all damaged in my unheated tunnel and other reports tell us that it’s a good hardy species for at least southern England. 

(If you doubt this remember that several other good garden plants come from a similar part of the world, Salvia uliginosa, Abutilon megapotamicum, Alstroemeria psittacina and Passiflora caerulea for example.)
Sold out  - rooting cuttings now

Buddleja loricata

A compact and hardy South African species with very striking narrow foliage - the undersides and stems being soft and white, contrasting with the deeply veined green upper surfaces. 

The flowers are small and white and often dismissed as uninteresting, but I like them for their dark brown eyes which has a striking effect. Full sun, good drainage and some shelter.
£22

Some Shrubs and Larger Perennials

Colquhounia coccinea

Pronounced Cohoonia, a very striking and exotic species, hardy and easily grown in a sunny, well-drained but not parched situation. Stems may die back during a hard winter but grow back during the summer in time to flower in the autumn.

Flowering relatively late, this species can be shy flowering if it does not get enough sun or if there is an early frost, but well worth persevering with.
Sold out

Caryopteris (Tripora) divaricata

A lush green upright bush, dying down completely in winter. The late flowering is the same but the flowers themselves are larger, rich blue, and much more interesting. Another purveyor of rare plants describes the flowers as merely ‘harmless’ which I think is rather a shame. They’re not huge or especially plentiful, but they are jolly pretty. Hardy and adaptable.

Very different to the familiar grey twiggy subshrubs (C. x clandonensis and the like) and this is now classified under another name - Tripora. 

£9

Jasminum fruticans

A lovely small shrub with fresh yellow (unscented) flowers in summer and neat little pinnate leaves. Makes a twiggy bush not more than three feet high here. Easy in any sunny spot in the garden where it won't be overwhelmed by boisterous neighbours. I have no idea why this is not very popular indeed.
£15

Buddleja nivea yunnanensis

This is an absolutely enormous shrub growing to 10ft very quickly and demanding a big space. The leaves are also very big – up to 20-30cm pale grey above, pure white felted beneath and along the stems.

The flowers resemble davidii but the small purple orange eyed flowers are in hefty clusters up to about 30cms long and set in white fluff. All in all a dramatic and remarkable thing.

The down side is that the new shoots and buds have been severely damaged by late frosts so needs a sheltered situation or a mild garden. Easy and undemanding otherwise
sold out

Buddleja lindleyana

A very striking species and not at all what you might expect a Buddleia to look like.

The rich purple flowers are tubular and have a waxy bloom to them which gives a particularly richly coloured effect and are produced over a long period in summer.
£15