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Butterfly Bush: How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Buddleia | The Old Farmer's Almanac

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Butterfly Bush

Attract beautiful butterflies to your garden with a butterfly bush.

Photo Credit
Willowpix/Getty
Botanical Name
Buddleia davidii
Plant Type
Trees, Shrubs, and Vine
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Soil pH
Varies
Bloom Time
Summer
Fall
Flower Color
Pink
Purple
Red
White
Yellow
Hardiness Zone
5
6
7
8
9
10
Special Features
Attracts Birds
Attracts Butterflies
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How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Butterfly Bushes

Catherine Boeckmann
May 25, 2023
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The butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) is a fast-growing, perennial shrub with masses of flowers—long, spiked trusses—that bloom from summer to autumn. While low-maintenance, butterfly bushes do need to be pruned in early spring. Learn more about growing this flowering shrub.

Also called “summer lilacs,” Buddleja are hardy to Zone 5 and remain evergreen from Zone 8 south. Growing 5 to 10 feet tall, this large, arching shrub produces an abundance of fragrant, showy flowers in mainly purple and pink. The shrubs grow well in perennial or shrub borders and the flowers are good for cutting.

Butterfly bush growth appears on new wood, so pruning can wait until the new wood is ready to grow in spring. Be patient with Buddleja since the shrub might not leaf out in the spring until after other perennials. 

Invasive Concerns

Please note that the butterfly bush, originally imported from China, has been classified as an invasive species in many U.S. states as its known to crowd out native plants that are essential to wildlife. In warm climates, it can become a noxious weed and spread aggressively, while in cooler climates, it mostly stays contained if gardeners deadhead the flowers.

Note: Despite its common name, butterfly bush is not a “host plant” for butterflies in that it does not support butterfly reproduction and lifecycle. Caterpillars do not feed on butterfly bushes; it only provides nectar to adult butterflies similar to many flowers. 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.

Read Next

Planting

Choose a location with full sun and moist, well-drained soil. 

When to Plant

How to Plant

  • Loosen the soil from 12 to 15 inches deep and mix in a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost.
  • 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. Gently backfill the hole around the rootball. Firm the soil.
  • Water thoroughly.
Growing

Caring for Butterfly Bushes

  • 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 promotes leaf growth over flower production.
  • Remove spent flower spikes to encourage new shoots and flower buds.  In addition, it is important to deadhead the flowers just as they start to wither so that this invasive plant doesn’t spread volunteer seeds. Deadheading of this invasive is now required in many states.
  • Each spring, apply a thin layer of compost, then 2 to 4 inches of 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.

Pruning Butterfly Bush

Butterfly bushes must be pruned vigorously or their flowers will grow up so high that you can’ t see and enjoy them!

  • Since butterfly bush blooms on new wood, even if there is no die-back, cut them back to the ground early each spring. Yes, hack to the ground! 
  • Also prune out dead stems, cutting them close to the ground.
  • Even where winters are mild enough for the stems to survive, prune severely to stimulate abundant growth on which flowers are borne.
Recommended Varieties

We are no longer recommending new plantings of the butterfly bush, given its categorization as an invasive in most of North America. Instead, we recommend using plants that better support the native landscape and food web, given our declining pollinator population. See alternative plants that attract butterflies.

Native Alternatives

Here are a few great flowering alternatives that also serve as host plants for caterpillars:

See a list of host plants native to your area here: Native Plant Finder

Pests/Diseases
  • Susceptible to capsid bug, caterpillars, weevils, mullein moth, and spider mites.
  • Fungal leaf spots and die-backs can occur.
  • Butterfly bushes are one of many deer-resistant plants.
Butterflies
Shrubs

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Comments

Rick (not verified)

1 month ago

Hi, Question: 2 out of 3 of my butterfly may possibly be dead, one of which is 5 feet from the other. I'm hoping they are going to start new growth. I don't cut or prune them. I'm not sure what to do, I've read to trim them (dead head) then one article said cut them to the ground. Does any one have any different ideas or let me know what I should do. Thank you.
Rick

Hi, Rick. The best thing to do is to severely cut the bush back. The sooner the better. This type of care is done in late fall or early spring.

Anne (not verified)

1 year 1 month ago

I read the Dill plant is a host for Black Swallowtail Butterflies;

Penny (not verified)

1 year 10 months ago

Not a gardener but this year decided to get a butterfly bush it was doing really well I was over the moon & exited that I managed to start growing something but it’s startling to wilt the leaves r curling what can I do ☹️

T Mitchum (not verified)

1 year 11 months ago

I recently planted a butterfly bush in a full sun flower bed. The flowers and leaves wilt by noon, even though they’ve been watered in the morning. The soil one inch below mulched surface is damp. Too much or not enough water?

Tawny Leste-Carlson (not verified)

2 years ago

I just purchased 2 Buddleia alternifola plants and excited to plant them but must wait until June 1st (zone 3b). I'm wondering how big these get 8n our short growing season?

Eileen Kasperek (not verified)

2 years 2 months ago

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?

Laurie (not verified)

1 year 3 months ago

It FEEDS them, but is not used for reproduction.

Tlc (not verified)

1 year 5 months ago

The butterfly bush will feed butterflies. However, adults do not lay eggs on this bush. “ Host plants are plants that adult butterflies depend upon to raise their larval young. Female butterflies lay their eggs directly onto their host plant of choice since caterpillars cannot travel far to feed.”.
https://birdwatchinghq.com/butterfly-host-plants/

Ester B (not verified)

2 years 4 months ago

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?