Thanks to its long, intensely fragrant flower spikes, the summer lilac is a real butterfly magnet. The panicles, which are up to 30 centimeters long, appear between July and September/October and provide intensive splashes of color in the garden when many other summer shrubs have long since faded. Buddleia is commercially available as a perennial and as a distinctive standard tree.
The summer lilac can also be grown as a standard
Possible uses for Standard Buddleia
A clear stem is a buddleia that has been grown in a tree shape with a rounded crown on a single main shoot. This shape has the advantage that, in contrast to the natural shrub shape, it saves a lot of space - so the standard tree can find a place where a sprawling shrub up to two or three meters wide would never fit. This means that the high-stem summer lilac is also suitable for small gardens and for keeping in tubs.
Possible uses at a glance:
- as an underplanted center in the perennial bed
- as a solitaire, for example on the lawn
- several tall trunks as a trellis for the main garden path
- planted in buckets to flank the front door
- as an eye-catcher in the front yard
and much more.
Planting and caring for standard summer lilacs
In terms of care, a high-stem summer lilac does not differ from the usual shrub form, only when pruning there are a few important tips to consider.
location
Like all summer lilacs, the clear stem also thrives best in a sunny, (wind)protected and warm location. The soil should be rather dry and well-drained, the pH slightly acidic to slightly calcareous. For a container plant, it is best to use a mixture of good potting soil and gravel.
Fertilize
Planted tall trees are supplied with compost and horn shavings (€32.93) twice a year - at the end of March and in June. Pot specimens, on the other hand, should be fertilized every two weeks between March and September with a liquid flowering plant fertilizer. Make sure that it contains less nitrogen and more phosphorus - this will ensure more abundant flowering.
To cut
A standard Buddleja davidii always blooms on this year's shoots and should therefore be pruned in early spring. A radical shortening, as is usual with summer lilac, makes little sense here, as you would otherwise destroy the beautiful crown. So shorten the shoots so that the round crown shape is retained. Older branches, on the other hand, are cut off directly at the trunk so that new shoots can grow out. Shoots growing laterally from the trunk and from the roots are removed immediately - otherwise you will soon have a classic shrub instead of the standard tree.
tips
You also have to pay attention to a special feature when overwintering the shrub: In contrast to the shrub, you also have to protect the trunk and the crown shoots from frost with the standard tree, otherwise they can freeze away.