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Butterfly Bush

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Botanical name: Buddleia davidii

Plant type: Shrub

USDA Hardiness Zones: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Sun exposure: Full Sun

Soil type: Any

Soil pH: Varies

Flower color: Red, Pink, Yellow, Purple, White

Bloom time: Summer, Fall

Want a guaranteed butterfly and hummingbird magnet? Or, one of the most fragrant of shrubs? Plant a buddleia (butterfly bush).

This fast-growing, deciduous shrub with long, arching shoots will reach heights of 6 to 8 feet. Although the green leaves add a welcome bit of color to any landscape, it is the masses of blossoms—long, seductively spiked trusses—that are special.  From summer to autumn, the butterfly bush bears dense panicles, 12 inches or more long, that fill the air with a fruity scent.

At its northern limits, the shrubs can die back, sometimes all the way to the ground. No matter. Butterfly bush is vigorous and undemanding and will send up new shoots, given a sunny location and average garden soil.

Note: Butterfly bush can be an invasive species in some areas; check with your local cooperative extension before planting.

Planting

  • Buddleias need full sun and fertile, well-drained soil.
  • Plant in spring or fall.
  • Loosen the soil, mix in compost, and dig a hole twice the diameter of the plant container.
  • When placing the plant in the hole, the top of the rootball should be level with the soil surface
  • Space plants 5 to 10 feet apart, depending on the variety.
  • Water thoroughly.

Care

  • Water freely when in growth and sparingly otherwise. In the summer, water if rainfall is less than 1 inch per week.
  • Avoid fertilizing butterfly bush; too much fertility supports leaf growth over flower production.
  • Remove spent flower spikes to encourage new shoots and flower buds.
  • Each spring, apply a thin layer of compost and mulch to retain moisture and control weeds.
  • In cold Northern climates, spread mulch up to 6 inches deep around the trunk to nurture it through the winter.
  • Buddleias are very late to break dormancy, so don't be in a hurry to assess winter damage.
  • The bush should bloom abundantly even in its first year. In warmer climates, the bushes will grow into trees and develop rugged trunks that peel; peeling is normal.
  • In the northern limit of their range, they behave as herbaceous perennials, dying back to the root in cold winters.
  • Since they bloom on new wood, even if there is no die-back, cut them back to the ground every spring. Even where winters are mild enough for the stems to survive, prune severely to stimulate abundant growth on which flowers are borne.

Pests

  • Susceptible to capsid bug, caterpillars, weevils, mullein moth, and spider mites.
  • Fungal leaf spots and die-backs can occur.

Recommended Varieties

  • 'Lockinch' is a spreading, vigorous, deciduous shrub with long, arching shoots. mid-green leaves, and fragrant violet-blue flowers. Grows 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide.
  • 'Petite Indigo' (syn. 'Nanho Blue') has slender leaves and narrow panicles of pale lilac-blue flowers. Grows 4 to 5 feet tall and wide.
  • 'White Profusion' has large, very white flower spikes and grows 10 feet high and 15 feet wide.

E-Cards

Send this free e-card of a butterfly on a butterfly bush!  See more e-cards of butterfly bushes!

Special Features

  • Attracts Butterflies
  • Attracts Birds

Comments

By Anonymous on May 18

can butterfly bush survive in zone 3 Calgary ab

By Anonymous on May 15

I love everything I see here about this beauty, I do however, have a veg garden not 10 feet from where I would be planting this and I am somewhat concerned about seeing that it not only attracts butterflies (hugh positive) but that it also attracts birds (hugh bummer for the garden) I am wondering if you have any suggestions or perhaps I am making a bigger deal out of this then I should. TYIA

By Anonymous on May 19

This plant is very fast growing ( in south western British Columbia ) I planted one on the east side of the garden and have to brutally prune it to keep it from shading the garden. I would suggest planting it on the north side of the garden to prevent shading. I have found it does not attract birds here ( except humming birds). It does tend to sprawl and needs annual pruning to control the growth or plant where there is a lot of room to spread out.

By Anonymous on May 15

Where is it's native land? Where was it introduced from?

By Almanac Staff on May 16

Buddleja Davidii originated from China and Japan. Most of the plants in commercial trade by the name "butterfly bush" are cultivars of this non-native. However, there are also North American natives of "Buddleja" -- Buddleja marrubiifolia (woolly butterflybush) native to Southern Trans-Pecos and Mexico, Buddleja racemosa (wand butterflybush) native to Texas, Buddleja scordioides (escobilla butterflybush) native to Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, and Buddleja sessiliflora (Rio Grande butterflybush) Arizona and Texas.

By Anonymous on May 13

Will a butterfly bush tolerate being potted in a 21" or larger pot? I have very little ground space and would love to have one of these sitting on my patio.

By Almanac Staff on May 14

You can grow a butterfly bush in a container. Depending on where you live you may need to protect the plant in the fall before the cold winter weather arrives.

By Anonymous on May 12

Is there any Almanac Staff answering questions in this forum anymore?

By Almanac Staff on May 14

We have thousands of pages so we may not get to them all but we'll try! The gardening season is getting very active. We hope that our wonderful gardening community will help out, too. To everyone reading this, please review the Q&As below because 1 out of 5 times the question has been asked before. Thank you--and enjoy our free garden pages and web site!

By Anonymous on May 12

My bush has done really well in full sun facing south, in the front of the house. It is over 6 feet tall and just as wide. I have not pruned it since planting it a few years ago. Is it too late to cut it way back now in mid-May? Should I cut it back to the ground or higher?

By Almanac Staff on May 14

A butterfly bush produces blooms on the current season’s new growth. If you prune now you will not have blooms this year. Wait to prune in early spring next year. You can cut the bush back to about a foot above soil level.

By Anonymous on May 11

I am very new to all this. What exactly does full sun mean? I planted two of them behind my Sunroom, I am in Myrtle Beach SC. The sun hits that spot 4 hours or so. Is that good enough?

By Anonymous on May 12

Full sun is 6 hours of direct sun a day.

By Anonymous on May 7

I live in Kentucky and my Butterfly Bush is in full bloom. The biggest problem I have is the excessive roots that are coming out of the ground all around the perimeter (3-4 feet away from base) and it looks like weeds growing all thru my mulch. Thus, I can't plant any other flowers there due to the mass of roots. Is this normal?

By Almanac Staff on May 14

Yes, this is normal. The butterfly bush is known to be invasive and have a massive root system. You can add more mulch to smother some of the new shoots.

By Anonymous on May 6

I live in Southern Wisconsin (Milw.area) and just pruned my bushes yesterday down to the ground. Is this much too late? When should I expect to see some growth? I planted my bushes last year and they were absolutely beautiful!! I would hate to have lost them due to pruning too late or too far back to the ground.

By Anonymous on May 18

If you've had any new growth that could throw a wrench in any expectations this season.

By Anonymous on May 5

My butterfly bush, which is about 10 years old, has not been flowering as well for the last 2 years. I did notice that the leaves were ragged last summer--but I'm not sure what insect was eating them. It seems slow in leafing out this spring. I live in northwestern RI. Any recommendations?

By Anonymous on May 4

Does the butterfly bush come in a dwarf size? I'd like it to be no higher than 3 feet.

By Anonymous on April 30

My husband trimmed my 4 year old butterfly bush last fall in late fall about 2 feet above the ground. The bush shows no signs of life this spring. Should I trim it back a little more to stimulate growth? Normally it is a little green by now. I live in southern Wisconsin.

By Almanac Staff on May 3

Give it time. Don't do anything else. It should come back, even if (per above) you didn't cut it right to the ground. (From where we are it looks as though parts of Wisconsin and surrounding areas are having either a long winter or a late spring, what with cold conditions. This bush might just be getting a slow start.

By Anonymous on April 24

Where on the plant do I prune the spent flowers? Right at the bottom of the stem or down further on the stem?

By Almanac Staff on May 3

Remove at the bottom of the flower stem.

By Almanac Staff on May 3

Remove at the bottom of the flower stem.

By Anonymous

I ordered a butterfly bush by mail and it has arrived. Problem is we are going to be in the upper 20's, so I can't plant it yet. Should I plant in a pot until the frosty nights are gone?

By Almanac Staff on May 3

No—do not plant it until you are relatively certain that spring is here. If it seems like it might be more than a week or so, sure, put it into a pot. In the meantime, keep the roots wrapped as they were shipped (or something like it: newspaper and then lightly bound in plastic) and damp with, say a spray bottle. Don't set the plant into a bucket of water.

By Anonymous

Hi all,
I wanted to buy a butterfly bush from a planter at Lowe's but I didn't know when I should transplant it. I can't keep it in the house because my 3-year old kills plants. When is the earliest I can plant in zone 5?

By Almanac Staff

You can plant the bush as soon as you have no more frosty nights. Add a little mulch around the plant to keep moisture in the soil and protect the roots.

By Anonymous

We planted two bushes from 12" pots about ten years ago, they have done fantastic. We took some cutting in the fourth year, put them in water first then plant, they are also beautiful. We cut them to about three foot and the end of the Season/Blooms. Now, I'm thinking of starting a Butterfly Bush farm. Starting some cuttings in my small greenhouse. Will let you know how they do.

By Anonymous

I made a 7 foot circular raised bed with stone on edge about 8 inches high I doomed the center of the bed approximately 4 inches higher then the out circumfrance of the bed cause it likes good drainage and like somewhat dry conditions and we are in low land by a swamp I I was careful to dig a 4 inch to 6 inch deep ditch around the bed inside and outside and filled it with some sand and loose scrap stone and covered it with old plastic grocery bags so soil would not clog it up and stop good drainage then I filled it back in and cover it up lawn is growing over it and you never would know I had that good drainage there!!I put plenty of compost I got for $20 a pick up truck load and bone meal and natural slow break down soil admendments its been there for 4 years now and what is amazing when I first year transplanted it I had fantastic growth and blossoms it is still doing great by the way I have a big comphrey hedge so I put alot of comphrey leaves in the soil when I planted it!Oh by the way I let it self seed and even thou it is a very large plant with deep violet blue flowers the new plants that came from it were white and blue mixed on the same flowers it look beautiful I'm thinking of propagating it and selling my own plants I never expected that to happen a pleasant beautiful surprise! If you want some seed I safed alot of them my email is gfjbthllr@yahoo.com drop me a line and share some of your wisdom and success with me aswell Im Georgie from Connecticut zone 5

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