Buddleja 'Mayford Purple'


Buddleja 'Mayford Purple' is an old hybrid cultivar, a full sister of 'Lochinch' and 'West Hill' raised at Lochinch Castle, Scotland, circa 1940, the shrub's parents believed to be Buddleja davidii and Buddleja fallowiana. 'Mayford Purple' was probably introduced to commerce by the Sunningdale Nursery in Surrey, England, which introduced its sibling 'West Hill', naming it for the nearby village of Mayford.

Description

'Mayford Purple' is a vigorous shrub with arching branches, growing to a height of 2 m if hard-pruned annually, bearing large 20 -30 cm panicles of purple flowers with orange eyes. The branchlets and leaves are covered with a dense whitish pubescence.

Cultivation

'Mayford Purple' never enjoyed the popularity of its siblings, and is no longer in commerce in the UK. A specimen was photographed at the Cambridge Botanic Garden by Leeuwenberg in 1978, but the plant is no longer known to the Garden's Plant Records Officer. The cultivar is not known to have been introduced to the United States.