Buddleja davidii alba shock colour change
 

For several years I have been growing a Buddleja davidii alba shrub in my
garden which each year has produced plenty of white scented blooms, all
white and only white.

To my great surprise this month I observed that some branches are carrying
white blooms while other adjacent joining branches are carrying light mauve
blooms.

What has happened to this shrub ?
Is it possible to get it back to carrying all white blooms in future years
simply by pruning off this year's branches which are carrying the mauve
blooms ?

Anthony ( 30 km east of London )

Buddleja davidii alba shock colour change
 

Anthony Stokes wrote:
For several years I have been growing a Buddleja davidii alba shrub
in my garden which each year has produced plenty of white scented
blooms, all white and only white.

To my great surprise this month I observed that some branches are
carrying white blooms while other adjacent joining branches are
carrying light mauve blooms.

What has happened to this shrub ?
Is it possible to get it back to carrying all white blooms in future
years simply by pruning off this year's branches which are carrying
the mauve blooms ?

Anthony ( 30 km east of London )


They sound like "sports" which is how many named form of B.davidii
originated.

Cut them off with a sharp knife flush with the stem they come from

pk

Buddleja davidii alba shock colour change
 

"p.k." wrote in message news
They sound like "sports" which is how many named form of B.davidii
originated.

Cut them off with a sharp knife flush with the stem they come from pk

Thanks for that advice p.k.

Buddleja davidii alba shock colour change
 

On Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:02:08 +0100, "Anthony Stokes"
wrote:

For several years I have been growing a Buddleja davidii alba shrub in my
garden which each year has produced plenty of white scented blooms, all
white and only white.

To my great surprise this month I observed that some branches are carrying
white blooms while other adjacent joining branches are carrying light mauve
blooms.

What has happened to this shrub ?
Is it possible to get it back to carrying all white blooms in future years
simply by pruning off this year's branches which are carrying the mauve
blooms ?

Anthony ( 30 km east of London )


I'd have a close look around the base of the shrub to make sure that
the shoots with the mauve flowers are actually coming from the main
shrub. B. Davidii readily self seeds and suckers and you can end up
with reversions to the basic Davidii which does carry mauve flowers in
its natural state.

Buddleja davidii alba shock colour change
 

"Jupiter" wrote in message
I'd have a close look around the base of the shrub to make sure that the
shoots with the mauve flowers are actually coming from the main
shrub.

Yes , they are. The branches some carrying white and some carrying mauve
flowers are high in the air and all growing from the same 'trunks' of the
same buddleja.
It's an interesting and pretty affect that I had not seen before on Buddleja
davidii.

Anthony

Buddleja davidii alba shock colour change
 

On Tue, 3 Jul 2007 09:19:30 +0100, "Anthony Stokes"
wrote:

"Jupiter" wrote in message
I'd have a close look around the base of the shrub to make sure that the
shoots with the mauve flowers are actually coming from the main
shrub.

Yes , they are. The branches some carrying white and some carrying mauve
flowers are high in the air and all growing from the same 'trunks' of the
same buddleja.
It's an interesting and pretty affect that I had not seen before on Buddleja
davidii.

Anthony




I think your Buddleia is developing reversion back to the native
stock. Are the shoots carrying the mauve flowers growing more
vigorously than the others? A way of delaying this is to cut out the
mauve flower shoots. You would lose the pretty effect of the 2
colours on the same shrub but delay the inevitable eventual
progression to all mauve.

Buddleja davidii alba shock colour change
 

Jupiter wrote:

On Tue, 3 Jul 2007 09:19:30 +0100, "Anthony Stokes"
wrote:

"Jupiter" wrote in message
I'd have a close look around the base of the shrub to make sure that the
shoots with the mauve flowers are actually coming from the main
shrub.

Yes , they are. The branches some carrying white and some carrying mauve
flowers are high in the air and all growing from the same 'trunks' of the
same buddleja.
It's an interesting and pretty affect that I had not seen before on Buddleja
davidii.

Anthony




I think your Buddleia is developing reversion back to the native
stock. Are the shoots carrying the mauve flowers growing more
vigorously than the others? A way of delaying this is to cut out the
mauve flower shoots. You would lose the pretty effect of the 2
colours on the same shrub but delay the inevitable eventual
progression to all mauve.

This has got me thinking, could you graft buddlejas onto each other??
Not that there's a reason, just wondering.


--
My Blog at: http://www.livejournal.com/users/sw33tf00l/