Buddleja davidii 'Royal Red' is an old American cultivar raised by Karle A. Lucal, introduced by the Good & Reese nursery, Ohio, and patented in 1942. Introduced to the UK after the Second World War, 'Royal Red' has become one of the most successful buddleja cultivars of all time, and still regarded as the best of the older 'reds'. The shrub was accorded the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit in 1950, and the Award of Garden Merit (record 680) in 1993 (reaffirmed 2010). In 1997, 'Royal Red' was placed 9th in a public poll of 57 Buddleja taxa conducted by the University of Georgia.