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 is now open to the public as a tourist attraction. There have been three main periods in the construction of this historic castle. The oldest part of the castle dates to 1270 and consisted of the gatehouse and a walled bailey. The second period was when the castle, then in need of repair, was converted into a manor in 1462 by Geoffrey Boleyn, younger brother of Thomas Bolyen, Master of Gonville Hall, Cambridge. He added a Tudor dwelling within the walls. The third period of repair and renovation was in the 20th century, when it was acquired by William Waldorf