Buddlejas, invasive and not

Susannah wrote:

 Buddleja davidii has begun to invade wild areas here in the Pacific
 Northwest of the U.S., and we are asked not to plant it.  I realize there
 are quite a few other Buddleja species available in the trade, and would
 love to try them -- but not if they seem likely to create similar problems.
  Anyone care to share local experiences?  Which species have you grown,
 have they reseeded in your garden, are any species other than B davidii
 common in gardens in your area?
Susannah

Buddlejas are common and popular in Australian gardens, readily available in nurseries, especially B. davidii, and I was often puzzled by articles in English garden magazines which commented that they (particularly B. davidii) were easily propagated by seed. I have a large sprawling garden in the country, and have found buddlejas to be very drought tolerant, a major consideration for me, and have B. davidii, B. alternifolia, B. crispa, B. colvillei, B. weyeriana, B. globosa, and B. salvifolia (not sure that all these are spelt correctly!) and my experience is that B. davidii seeds madly about, and B. globosa suckers somewhat, but the others have been extremely well behaved. I have now removed all B. davidii except for a hedge of "Lochinch", which is kept clipped.

I haven't checked whether buddlejas are on the noxious weed list for any part of eastern Australia, but I can well imagine that they could become a major problem in bushland in appropriate climatic conditions.

Shelley
--
Shelley Harvey
Northern Tablelands of NSW
Australia
email: sharvey@pobox.une.edu.au

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