I've chosen the Buddleja (or Buddleia) as this month's feature plant with some reservations. They're not native to Australia (and hail from temperate regions of Asia, Africa and South America), although they have become naturalised here. In some countries, such as New Zealand, and some American states they are a declared weed or pest plant due to their ability to self-sow. Buddlejas are both male and female plants at the same time so do quite nicely at reproducing on their own. They make copious amounts of seeds from spent flower heads and grow readily in a wide range of soil types. Here it's too dry for them to become a problem. Given all of this, I've chosen it as the flora feature because it does feature largely in the bird life front of verandah. I inherited three Buddlejas - two davidii with purple flowers - and one globosa - or orange ball tree. I have since planted a group of white flowering davidii. There are over 140 species of Buddleja, with hundreds or cultivars and quite a splendid range of colours. They flower here from Dec-Feb and dead-heading encourages them to produce even more flowers while reducing the chances of self-sowing. This year I one-third pruned one of the plants, which is recommended, as they can get a bit straggly left to their own devices. This is the plant before pruning. As you can see, the leaves die back from the bottom of the stem as it grows, which can look a bit untidy. and after a tidy up - On the plus side they are easy to grow, drought tolerant, can handle a bit of salt and, best of all, they're a magnet for small honey-eaters, butterflies and a range of nectar- feeding insects.
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Archives
February 2019
January - Grass Tree
February - Kangaroo Apple - Large-leaf Grevillea March - Silver Banksia April - Drooping Sheoak May - Correa June - Grevillea July - Buddleja August - Sundews September - Native Hibiscus October - Running Postman November - Hakea December - Sticky Hop Bush |