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Buddleia in pots

Updated: 22 October 2026

You garden on a patio, balcony or courtyard, and an amazon.co.uk bullet says the buddleia is fine in a container or compact enough for a pot. That word is a different claim from the RHS method for a long-term patio butterfly bush. This page covers pot width, compost and which of the six listings fit that plan. Prices are on the [buddleia comparison](/hub/ornamental-plants/buddleia). Peter F. checked the listings and public UK sources on 21 October 2026. These plants were not grown in containers for a trial. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You garden on a patio, balcony or courtyard, and an amazon.co.uk bullet says the buddleia is fine in a container or compact enough for a pot.

Our top picks

Carbeth Plants Tricolour buddleia, one 2 L pot

Best overall

Carbeth Plants Tricolour buddleia, one 2 L pot
8.2/10about £19.99
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Carbeth Plants Buddleia trio, three 9 cm pots

Best value

Carbeth Plants Buddleia trio, three 9 cm pots
7.3/10about £17.99
View offer
Carbeth Plants Flower Power buddleia, two 2 L pots

Alternative

Carbeth Plants Flower Power buddleia, two 2 L pots
6.2/10about £24.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What good in a container means on the RHS page
  2. 2.What these six listings actually promise
  3. 3.Buzz is not in this set, and two UK sources disagree
  4. 4.Water, feed and the spring cut in a pot

What good in a container means on the RHS page

The RHS growing guide reserves the straightforward patio path for dwarf B. davidii such as Buzz or Nanho, about 1–1.2 metres, in peat-free multipurpose compost with added John Innes. Add slow-release feed in the first summer, and repot every two to three years until the plant sits in a pot about 60 cm wide. Many buddlejas still reach roughly 2.5–3 metres in the border even with hard pruning. The 60 cm width is for those named dwarfs. Water containers more often than border plants in a dry spell. Expect wind rock on a tall hybrid unless the pot is heavy and you prune each year.

What these six listings actually promise

Arrival pots here are 2 litres or 9 cm. None of the listings states a finished container 60 cm wide. The single 2 litre tricolour allows containers in a bullet, and the species page describes a large deciduous shrub. A container works if you accept the size, some staking and a yearly hard prune. Flower Power at about £24.99 and about £34.99 says compact and suitable for a sunny container, with a height attribute of 2 metres. RHS 'Bicolor' is 2.5–4 metres, so compact on its own is a weak reason to choose it for a small patio. The 9 cm trio at about £17.99 has no container bullet. White Profusion at about £14.45 has none either, and the RHS shop size grown on is about 3 metres by 5 metres. The 60 cm height field on the tricolour is the seller's plant-height line. The RHS 60 cm figure is an eventual pot width for a dwarf.
Carbeth Plants Tricolour buddleia, one 2 L pot

Testsieger

Carbeth Plants Tricolour buddleia, one 2 L pot
8.2/10about £19.99
View offer

Buzz is not in this set, and two UK sources disagree

Buzz Lilac on the RHS plant list is about 1.2 metres, with patio and container among the suggested sites. Buzz does not appear in this set, so the tricolour or Flower Power listing is a different plant. Which? warns that some Buzz varieties sold as patio buddleia grow too large for most pots. The RHS still recommends dwarf buddleja in pots. Dwarfs are the group to look for, and even a dwarf can outgrow a small balcony pot. This comparison does not stock Buzz, so it cannot settle that disagreement.

Water, feed and the spring cut in a pot

A buddleja in a pot needs more frequent watering than the same plant in the ground during a hot week, especially while it is still in a small arrival pot. Feed follows the RHS slow-release note for the first summer. After that, follow the label on a peat-free John Innes mix. Plants in pots still get the late March to mid-April hard prune if they are B. davidii or B. × weyeriana Flower Power. The cut is on how to prune buddleia. Repot as the roots fill the pot. Step up toward a wide final pot only if you have chosen to grow a full-size hybrid in a container. If you want a small permanent patio shrub, order a named dwarf from outside this set.

Common questions

Will a 2 litre buddleia live in the pot it arrives in?
Only as a temporary nursery pot. Plan to plant it into a border, or move it into a much larger container. A full-size davidii type kept in a pot still needs a hard prune each spring if you want the managed size of about 1.8–2.4 metres. The 2 litre pot is the arrival size.
How wide a patio pot does the RHS actually describe?
About 60 cm wide eventually, for dwarf cultivars in the growing guide, with repotting every two to three years until then. That width is for Buzz or Nanho types at about 1–1.2 metres. It is a different figure from the 60 cm height field on the tricolour listings.
What compost goes in that pot?
Peat-free multipurpose compost with added John Innes, plus slow-release feed for the first summer, as the RHS growing guide describes it. After the first season, follow the compost label. Containers dry faster than the same shrub in the ground, so water in hot spells.
Is Flower Power the compact patio plant the bullet suggests?
The bullets say compact and suitable for a sunny container, and the height attribute says 2 metres. RHS Buddleja × weyeriana 'Bicolor' is 2.5–4 metres tall. Compact on amazon.co.uk is a seller line in this set. It is thin evidence of a measured dwarf.
Why do RHS and Which? disagree about Buzz?
The RHS recommends dwarf buddleja for containers, including Buzz at about 1.2 metres. Which? warns that some Buzz varieties sold as patio buddleia can still outgrow a typical pot. Name both limits. This set does not include Buzz, so it cannot pick a winner or supply the plant.

Related pages

Buddleia buying guide

Best buddleia in this set

Buddleia

Buddleia davidii or Flower Power: flowers and height

How to prune buddleia: late March to mid-April cut

Sources

Public sources from the research digest, last checked on 21 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file. The price band is this set, not a market average. No listing was trialled in a garden.

  1. RHS: buddleja growing guide (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. RHS: Buddleja davidii (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. RHS: Buddleja × weyeriana 'Bicolor' (Flower Power) (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. RHS: Buddleja davidii 'White Profusion' (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. NNSS: Buddleja davidii (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. NNSS risk assessment, October 2020 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 Schedule 9 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. GOV.UK: plant passports for trade (retrieved 21 October 2026)