The butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) is a beautiful, fast-growing, deciduous shrub with masses of blossoms—long, spiked trusses—that bloom from summer to autumn.
Its flowers come in many colors, though butterflies seem to prefer the lavender-pink (mauve) of the species to the white and dark purple cultivars.
Also called “summer lilacs,” butterfly bushes are hardy to Zone 5 and remain evergreen from Zone 8 south. The shrub is low-maintenance, only requiring dead-heading and annual pruning in later winter to encourage flowers and a compact shape.
Invasive Concerns
Please note that the butterfly bush, originally imported from China, has been classified as an invasive species in most U.S. regions. In other words, the butterfly bush is known to crowd out native plants that are essential to wildlife, including butterflies and birds. In warm climates, it can become a noxious weed and spread aggressively, while in cooler climates, it mostly stays contained within a garden’s cultivated soil if gardeners deadhead the flowers.
Despite the “butterfly” name, keep in mind that this shrub is not a “host plant” for butterflies in that it does not support butterfly reproduction and lifecycle. Caterpillars do not feed on butterfly bushes; rather, it only provides nectar to adult butterflies. If you do have a butterfly bush, be sure to add native host plants such as milkweed, aster, and dill if you want the butterflies to stay. See plants that attract butterflies.
If you would still like to put a butterfly bush in your garden, there are a few species of non-invasive butterfly bushes native to the southwestern US. Please check with your local cooperative extension for more information.
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butterfly bush
One one page your writer say" Despite the “butterfly” name, keep in mind that this shrub is not a “host plant” for butterflies in that it does not support butterfly reproduction and lifecycle." When I follow the link to See plants that will attract butterflies it lists the same butterfly bush/buddleia as a plant that will feed butterflies throughout their life cycles. So which is it? Buddleia/butterfly bush good or bad?
When to plant
I live in zone 7 and received my butterfly bush today,1/20. Should I pot it and wait until the last frost before putting in the ground?
when to plant
Without knowing more about your location—microclimate? altitude? other?–we would wait until after the last frost, even though this is a perennial. As noted above, we suggest plant in spring or fall before frost. See your local frost dates. Alternatively, contact the nursery/vendor you bought it from; they can comment better on your specific situation…and the plant.
Bicolor butterfly bush only one color
Hi, We had ordered a bicolor butterfly bush which we planted in the fall. However it came with only one color (purple) flowers. I had thought maybe the next year they would have the two colors that I saw in pictures but this summer it still has only one color (we planted it in the fall).
Also, we’d like to have a big bush, but do I still need to cut it back in the spring in order for it to bloom better? This year, the blooms have a few flowers on the top of the flower stem but mostly look spent/dead very quickly- it is not the profuse flower bud stems of when we planted it.
Thanks.
Butterfly bush
My Butterfly Bush is growing well and blooming, but the lower leaves are wrinkled. Is that a concern? It seems to be healthy, but I just worry that is a sign of something wrong.
Butterfly Bush Wrinkled Leaves
Hi Jane,
Wrinkled leaves could be a sign that the plant needs to be watered more. Try watering slightly more frequently and checking the leaves again after a week or two!
Butterfly bush
Thank you. You gave exact information I needed to plant & care for my new bush. Appreciative for your service.
Butterfly bushes
I live in Pa. and have had butterfly bushes for 34 years. They have never re-seeded or become invasive for me. I love these bushes. Butterflies swarm to them. I have many types of flowering shrubs but the butterflies love these best. Hummingbirds and bees prefer my other flowers but they do attract bees. After their long trek North i think the butterflies deserve the feast found on even the smallest bush! ( I have other plants, trees and shrubs E.g. lily of the valley, wisteria , ivy, maple seedlings ...that are invasive and others that spread easily ( lilies, Columbine,rudbeckia, irises, forsythia, ...but i find these plant to hold their space. Please don’t stop selling them.
Love my Butterfly bush
It seems to REALLY attract hummingbirds as well .
Yellow leaves
I have 3 butterfly bushes And the leaves are turning yellow and wilting in the late afternoon. They are also losing their leaves? Suggestions
Butterfly Bush Leaves Turning Yellow
What’s the location like? Lots of sun? No sun? Lots of water? No water? The issue likely stems from one of those—lighting or water.
Butterfly bush
Ashley, trust me these bushes are hard to kill! Very aggressive. Patience, summer is when you will see it again.
Butterfly bush no regrowing?
I am new to having butterfly bushes. I bought one last summer and planted it and it did great! I was unaware that it needed to be pruned back so I got it pruned back a couple weeks ago, early spring. I don't think it is re-growing though. :( It's cut pretty much down to the ground, and there a some small green leaves on the bottom, coming off the stem that was cut. Is that considered re-growth? I am planning on getting a couple more plants to place in my garden but I wanted to try and save this one if still able to. I am in central Illinois and its been cooler so far this spring, would that effect the growth?
Do not plant this!
This is an invasive species that is harmful to our eco system. Do not trust the 'sterile' varieties. Please read Doug Tallamy's books. Plant native host plants.
Didn't cut back
It's a warm spring already in Northern Cal. I didn't know these plants need to be cut back. Now my butterfly bush is 8-9 feet tall and leaning over to the ground. Is it to late to cut back? It looks like it has new growth on it. Any suggestions?
Pruning Butterfly Bush in N California
You can prune back Butterfly bush (Buddleia) in late winter or early spring to encourage more new growth and flowers. Don’t worry. Many summer-flowering shrubs grow quickly and can take heavy pruning. You can cut Buddleias back every year to 10 to 12 inches, and they will become six-foot giants again by the end of summer.
Butterfly Bush
My butterfly bush got too big and split in half and then died. I will buy another one in the next month--it was so beautiful and the butterflies and bees loved it. It must be invasive up north bc I never dead-headed it and I have no seedlings.
Height
6 - 12 feet
Please Advise: Can I relocate an established Butterfly Bush?
I have a beautiful & healthy Butterfly Bush in a bed right next to my front door-The bees LOVE this bush so I absolutely want to keep it but I’d like to relocate it to the backyard garden away from my front door (my dog was recently stung by a bee while entering the house). I live on the coast in Massachusetts & the Bush is approximately 6 years old; I’d very much appreciate any advice about how/when to relocate this bush. Thanks!
Transplanting Butterfly Bush
Luckily, butterfly bushes are vigorous growers and are easily transplanted! The best time to transplant perennial plants is in the fall or early spring, when they’re neither flowering nor producing new growth.
In your case, wait until early to mid-fall, when temperatures start to cool off, then dig and transplant the bush. Once in the ground, the foliage may look a little sad for a while, but it will recover once the roots re-establish themselves (or the foliage will die back in winter anyway, if it normally does). If rain is infrequent, be sure to keep the bush watered after transplanting. Before hard frost and snow arrive, you may want to add a 2-3 inch layer of mulch over top of the plant—just as added protection for this winter.
Butterfly bush
Why are my flowers on my butterfly bush not lasting very long. About one or two days. These are the big purple ones. The reddish ones last much longer.
butterfly bush flowers
That is strange. A butterfly bush will bloom all summer long. Several plants go by the common name Butterfly Bush. Are you definitely referring to Buddleia davidii, which blooms on new growth?
Of course, if your busy is NOT flowering, that’s usually an issue of pruning at the wrong time. Stems should be pruned back in late winter moving into early spring to encourage large, lush flower spikes. You can let it grow into a shrub form, (which could eventually be about 12’x15’) but your flower “show” won’t be as spectacular. Avoid pruning in late spring, summer, fall, or early winter.
But you’re saying your flowers DO bloom and just do not last a long time. Is your bush getting enough sun? A butterfly bush LOVES sun and requires a minimum of 8 hours of bright sunlight.
Also, try removing (deadheading) the spent blooms periodically during the summer to encourage additional new growth and subsequent flowers until frost.
Butterfly bush dead?
The house came with a butterfly bush and I admit I am not good at knowing how to care for things outside. We've been here for 2 years and I have never done anything to the plant at all. This year nothing seems be happening at all so far, no blooms or even things that look like buds. The bush is about 6 feet tall and has a hard center stalk like a tree. Is it dead? Is it too late in the year to chop it to the ground like you suggest? From some other comments here - the soil I have been told is kind of clayey, it should have good drainage, it rains here pretty regularly though seems to be wetter this year, lots of sun in that spot. We are in zone 5b in MA.
Butterfly. Ush
I have 2 Madagascar butterfly bush growing instead of becoming tree or shrub like they are sprawling everywhere. What would be the best way to have them growing up rather than ground level sprawling. Would it benefit putting on a trellis
Staking
It sounds like the plant would benefit from support of some sort. Perhaps tie the branches up to a couple stakes—or a trellis, as you mentioned.
Butterfly bush
I bought my butterfly bush a few years ago, it bloomed beautifully the first-year, after that the leaaves and blooms were just puny. Tried removing spent blooms, new blooms were still punny. Last year it starting putting on nice size leaves, the leaves yellowed and no blooms.This year the plant is doing the same, leaves are yellowing, no blooms. I added some top soil a couple of weeks ago, it might be too soon to see if it helped. Now I am thinking of adding some MiracleGro or maybe some fish emulsion...HELP PLEASE
Butterfly Bush Troubleshooting
What is the planting site like? Is the soil well-draining or is it quite clayey? Does the plant get a ton of water or is it fairly dry? Is it in full sun or shade? It could be that the planting site is just not ideal for the plant!
new plant
I put out a small butterfly bush start from Tractor Supply this spring. It had a few leaves at the time. Those are gone, and all I have is a twig like stem, about 8 inches tall. I am not sure how long to wait for something to happen, or if I should cut back to ground, or am I doomed? Knoxville, TN
Doomed?
Certainly not. We can’t be sure from this vantage point: It could take the plant a bit of time to become established. Sometimes plants take the transition poorly and look worse before they get better. If you think things are dire, you could take a picture of the plant to show to the good folks at Tractor Supply or even uproot it, gently, and bring it back to express your dissatisfaction. (We would advise this of any plant that does not seem to “take” when planted.) It’s still early in season so you should be able to try a new one if it comes to that.
Dara I bought 3 butterfly
Dara I bought 3 butterfly bush's on clearance sale last year they looked great.One of them did the same as yours.I kept it anyway just to see if it would come back and it did it's as big as the other 2 .I didn't cut mine back until this year so I would remember what was in pot.So keep your twig in same pot it may come back. My dead twig is a beautiful blooming plant this year.The other 2 plants did the same thing in winter and all came back covered with beautiful blooms.So good luck with yours.
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