The wonderfully blooming summer lilac (Buddleja davidii) comes into its own as a solitaire in the middle of a colorfully planted perennial border. You can also enjoy the splendor of the flowers if you place the flowering shrub - perhaps together with other flowering shrubs - in a fragrant hedge. This also has the advantage that due to the rapid growth of the summer lilac, a privacy screen can be set up quickly - Buddleja grows up to 150 centimeters in height per year.
The summer lilac makes a beautiful flowering hedge
location
The ideal location for such a hedge is in full sun - Buddleia likes it sunny and warm. You can also place the shrubs in the light semi-shade, but the flowers will not be as splendid there. The soil is ideally permeable, rather sandy and lean. On the other hand, the summer lilac does not tolerate heavy, moist soils - for example those that contain a lot of loam or clay.
planting time
If possible, plant the hedge in spring so that the plants have enough time to grow until autumn. The perfect time for this is around the end of March / beginning of April, as later planting delays growth and flowering. However, watch out for any late frost that may occur, during which you must protect the young plants by covering them with fleece.
planting distance
Depending on the variety, summer lilac grows up to 300 or even 400 centimeters high and needs a corresponding amount of space. For a hedge, you can also place the shrubs closer together, up to 80 centimeters apart - or offset in two rows, 90 to 100 centimeters apart. This variant has the advantage that the individual shrubs each have enough space and do not have to be crowded together, but at the same time you create an opaque hedge.
possible combinations
A combination of different colored flowering varieties of Buddleja davidii is very pretty, which also has the advantage that they flower at the same time. You can also combine the summer lilac with other flowering shrubs, for example with
- Wild roses, such as apple or potato roses (Rosa rugosa) or dog roses (Rosa canina)
- Scented jasmine, Philadelphus coronarius, grows up to 80 centimeters per year and has white flowers
- Panicle hydrangea, Hydrangea paniculata, harmonises wonderfully with the summer lilac
- Garden marshmallow, also blooms quite late in the year
- Smoke bush, impresses with sprawling growth and radiant flower colors
tips
You do not have to put together flowering shrub hedges yourself, because many garden suppliers will put together ready-made hedge packages for you from species and varieties that match each other.