Buddleja 'Miss Ruby'

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Sponsor

Kindly sponsored by
The John Spedan Lewis Foundation

Sponsors

Credits

Andrew Large (2021)

Recommended citation
Large, A.T. (2021), 'Buddleja 'Miss Ruby'' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/buddleja/buddleja-miss-ruby/). Accessed 2024-03-29.

Glossary

hybrid
Plant originating from the cross-fertilisation of genetically distinct individuals (e.g. two species or two subspecies).

Credits

Andrew Large (2021)

Recommended citation
Large, A.T. (2021), 'Buddleja 'Miss Ruby'' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/buddleja/buddleja-miss-ruby/). Accessed 2024-03-29.

A hybrid from a cross of B. davidii ‘White Ball’ and B. × ‘Attraction’; there is a genetic contribution from B. globosa via ‘Attraction’, itself a seedling of B. × weyeriana ‘Honeycomb’ (Werner & Snelling 2009). Nevertheless, in all its major features this hybrid is indistinguishable from B. davidii.

USDA Hardiness Zone 6-9

RHS Hardiness Rating H5

Awards RHS AGM

Bred at North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC, USA) by Dennis Werner, ‘Miss Ruby’ was introduced in 2009. It represented something of a colour-break when it first appeared, and accordingly was awarded the RHS AGM in 2010 (RHS Trials Office 2010). However, several newer cultivars rival it for colour.

‘Miss Ruby’ has an upright, well-branched and compact habit, rarely exceeding 1.5 m in height or spread. The leaves are green above and grey-green underneath, and generally a little smaller than usual for B. davidii. It is semi-evergreen, keeping its leaves in winter only in milder areas. The inflorescences are pointed panicles, upright or nearly so, and rather short for a modern ornamental Buddleia at 15–20 cm. The colour, however, is outstanding: a bright cerise-red that at the time of release was the closest to a true red of any B. davidii garden cultivar or hybrid. (Werner & Snelling 2009).

This hybrid can be treated in the same way as any B. davidii cultivar, requiring a well-drained soil and sun for at least part of the day, and benefitting from hard-pruning in the spring.