Buddleja × pikei 'Hever' remains in commerce in the UK and France. Rather tender, a sunny location against a wall is to be preferred. Buddleja × pikei Buddleja × pikei is an English hybrid of "Buddleja alternifolia" and "Buddleja crispa" raised by Mr A V Pike, Head Gardener at Hever Castle, Kent. The cultivar was described and named in 1950 by Harold Fletcher, Regius Keeper at the RBG Edinburgh. "Buddleja" × "pikei" is a lax, straggly, deciduous, free-flowering shrub growing to a height of about 1.5 m. The leaves are < 15 cm long, narrowly lanceolate with scalloped margins. The inflorescences are terminal
Hever Castle Astor. Geoffrey Boleyn's grandson, Thomas Boleyn, inherited the castle in 1505. He lived there with his wife Lady Elizabeth Howard and their children George, Mary and Anne (the future wife of Henry VIII). It is not known if Anne was born at Hever (the year of her birth is not certain), but she lived there until she was sent to the Netherlands in 1513 to receive an education at the court of the Archduchess Margaret. Henry VIII often used the nearby Bolebroke Castle to conduct his courtship with Anne. The property came into the possession of Henry VIII after the