Susan, my experience with it has been wonderful! It isn't blooming now, but that's how it did last year. It begins to bloom when the temps start to fall (late September or sometime in October?) and continues to bloom until it gets hot - like 90 degrees or more in the day time - usually in early June. Its blooming peak, I'd say, is in late winter/early spring. Mine gets some dieback of its oldest limbs, which I cut off, but then it continues to make new branches from the trunk, which grow straight up to about ?9 feet or so. It makes a tall, wide bush, so the only drawback I can see is that it might not fit in a very small garden.

The thing I LOVE about it is that it blooms in winter and is adored by hummingbirds! The ruby throats of spring, summer and fall (they arrive in mid-March and leave in mid-October here) visit it as much as they visit Salvia guaranitica, and that's saying something! Oddly, the butterflies rarely ever visit it. I had a rufous hummer that overwintered with me one year, and I've been looking for a winter blooming plant ever since. Orange Septre is also evergreen throughout the winter.

I planted mine in a raised bed where it gets part sun/part shade. Everything does better with the benefit of some shade down here - full sun is too harsh in summer.

I consider 'Orange Septre' to be one of my best plant 'discoveries'! :)

Sherry

Thank you so much! I'm not sure it would be evergreen here in Oklahoma. Some web info indicates its hardy only to zone 8, while others say to zone 6. If it is hardy in my zone, it would be worthwhile to have as an early spring bloomer for migrating hummers. I have little that blooms then, e.g., hollies, privet, and am fall planting my Mexican Plum (may not bloom for a few years yet).

It's a gorgeous shrub and Mountain Valley growers has small plants for around $5.00. I don't know much about them either, but they stock a lot of varieties of Buddleia. My bi-color is my all time favorite of those I've grown to date. It is wildly attractive to butterflies. But I'd like to add another and I love much about Orange Sceptre.

Susan