Like a buddleia but not.

[HamFrancisco]

I want to plant a tall shrub, ideally multi stem, with an open, airy canopy. A buddleia would be perfect, except I don’t want it seeding in walls etc. What else is similar? I think a lifted canopy evergreen like a photinia is too heavy and dense, it’s for the middle of the garden so it would be nice to see through it.

4m height and 2m width max.

A Viburnum possibly? There are some lovely ones. Or how about a weeping cherry.

Lilac?

Shrub or tree?
Philadelphus.
Acer.

Lilac - such a lovely scent too!

Mock orange , lilac , weigela ?

Kolkowitza (sp?)?

Not all buddleias self seed. I have two old ones that have never had babies and I've had to take cuttings for propagation (I'm useless so most don't survive winter). See if any local nurseries have the older strains. One of mine is actually perfumed like an old fashioned rose 😍

Lilac and Philadelphus. Beautiful flowers and scent, open canopy. Philadelphus grows very fast so needs pruned hard.

Thanks all. Some of these look like normal bushes to me, I really want something that either naturally grows sparsely or that can be pruned that way.
Sadly we’re too exposed for an acer. But that’s got me considering a sambucus.
I don’t mind tree or bush, provided I can keep it small, it’s going in the middle of a small garden.

Viburnam grows sparsely. It's deciduous, so it looks green and vibrant in growing season, but in the winter it's really sparse and that's when it flowers and the flowers smell amazing. Lilac is the same, although that flowers in spring.

Get a hybrid buddleia, they are sterile so won't set seed everywhere.

How small is the small garden? 4 mtr high isn't particularly small. Need to know aspect,and soil type, picture if possible.

Here's a list of non invasive buddleia from an American site, but I believe available here too, Approved cultivars include:

Buddleja 'Asian Moon'
Buddleja 'Blue Chip'
Buddleja 'Blue Chip Jr.'
Buddleja 'Ice Chip' (Formerly 'White Icing')
Buddleja 'Inspired Pink'
Buddleja 'Pink Micro Chip'
Buddleja 'Purple Haze'
FLUTTERBY GRANDÉ™ Blueberry Cobbler Nectar Bush
FLUTTERBY GRANDÉ™ Peach Cobbler Nectar Bush
FLUTTERBY GRANDÉ™ Sweet Marmalade Nectar Bush
FLUTTERBY GRANDÉ™ Tangerine Dream Nectar Bush
FLUTTERBY GRANDÉ™ Vanilla Nectar Bush
FLUTTERBY PETITE™ Snow White Nectar Bush
FLUTTERBY™ Pink Nectar Bush
These cultivars have been proven to be interspecific hybrids through testing and laboratory analysis. Their fertility has not been assessed, but interspecific hybrids generally exhibit low fertility.

Buddleja 'Lilac Chip'
Buddleja 'Miss Molly'
Buddleja 'Miss Ruby'
Buddleja 'Miss Violet

Weigela?

The garden is about 10m x 10m, the place it would be planted gets sun from about noon for the rest of the day. It’s going in a central bed with a path around it. I don’t want weeping, I don’t think.

Or a dogwood.

This is the type of idea I’m going for.

Fatsia Japonica

Tell me more about dogwood, I thought they were a whole load of orange sticks!

BTW, it doesn’t have to flower, I like buddleia for the shape.

A bottle brush plant?

We have two buddelias and neither have self seeded over years. One has deep purple flowers and the other deep pink. They are beautiful and surrounded by butterflies all Summer. We have cut them back down regularly to help keep their shape. We are not very experienced gardeners but these have been a success.

If that’s what you’re aiming for, why not have a fig as in that picture?

Cornus (dogwood) - various species. Some are grown for their stem colour, and these are cut down every year to stimulate new growth- this is why you think of them as a mass of sticks. Cornus mas is an open tree with tiny yellow flowers on bare branches - mine has been out for a couple of weeks. Cornus kousa and Cornus florida are grown for the white or pink bracts surrounding their flowers.

If you’re after an open structure, Hamamelis (witch hazel) is worth considering - yellow or orange flowers with strap like flowers in Jan/Feb, wonderful autumn colour.

What about leycesteria (Himalayan honeysuckle). It grows in a very similar manner to buddleia. It can be cut down to the ground each spring and will grow back up to 2m+ by autumn, makes a similar sort of fountain shape which is narrow at the bottom and fans out as it goes up. The flowers are beautiful. I have one in my small front garden, which is used on the boundary to provide privacy without taking over the whole bed.
Pic is pulled from internet - mine grows taller than this one.

Ooh, what is the rose scented one like ?

I agree re not all of them seeding. I have a beautiful yellow one (I think Sungold?) that flowers late in the Summer and has never seeded, I would be very happy if it did ! Also Buddleia Globosa, I really like that and it hasn’t seeded for me.