Place in full sun locations to achieve the best bloom. Buddleia is best used in mass plantings. The foliage and flowers create a more dramatic showing if placed in groupings. Maintain one color throughout the gathering to create the most dazzling display. If utilized in a perennial border, place smaller evergreen shrubs in front to mask the naked stems during the winter months.
Numerous cultivars exist in the trade.
Harlequin' has creamy variegated foliage and reddish-purple flowers. The 'Nanho' series includes pink, blue and purple selections of a small size and the 'Petite' series is even more compact and densely branched with introductions of plum and indigo. For those wishing to try a water efficient cousin, try Buddleia marrubifolia . A native to southwestern Texas and northern Mexico, the woolly butterfly bush as it is known, is quite a bit different in appearance to its namesake. The shrub typically grows to 3 to 5 feet in height and width.