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How to Grow Butterfly Bushes: Planting, Pruning & Pollinator Tips

Attract beautiful butterflies to your garden with a butterfly bush.

Image Credit:
Willowpix/Getty
Botanical Name
Buddleia davidii
Grown as
Perennial
USDA Zones
5a
5b
6a
6b
7a
7b
8a
8b
9a
9b
Toxicity
Non-toxic
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Water Needs
Moderate
Height
6-10 feet
Spread
6-10 feet
Soil pH
Neutral
Alkaline
Bloom Time
Summer
Fall
Flower Color
Pink
Purple
Red
White
Yellow
Special Features
Cut Flower
Disease-Resistant
Fragrant
Long Blooming
Attracts Butterflies
Attracts Hummingbirds
Attracts Pollinators
Deer-resistant
Rabbit-resistant
Resilience
Cold Hardy
Drought-Tolerant
Heat-Tolerant
Salt Tolerant
Plant Type
Shrubs and Bushes
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

If you’ve ever dreamed of a garden buzzing with butterflies, the butterfly bush might seem like your perfect match. With its arching stems and cone-shaped clusters of fragrant blooms, this fast-growing shrub is a pollinator magnet that brings nonstop summer color. But before you plant, there’s more to consider—like when to prune (hint: not too early!) and whether your region may classify it as invasive. 

In this guide, we’ll help you plant, grow, prune, and responsibly care for Buddleja—so you can enjoy its beauty while being a smart steward of your garden.

Also called “summer lilacs,” butterfly bushes (Buddleia davidii) 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 flowers—long, spiked trusses—in mainly purple and pink colors. The shrub grows well in perennial gardens or as a shrub border, and the flowers are good for cutting.

Don’t prune at the wrong time. Butterfly bush growth appears on new wood, so pruning should wait until the new wood is ready to grow in spring. Also, be patient with this shrub as it may not leaf out in the spring until after other perennials. 

butterfly on a butterfly bush

Invasive Concerns of Butterfly Bushes

Please note that the butterfly bush, originally imported from China, has been classified as an invasive species in many U.S. states, as it’s 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: The butterfly bush does provide adult butterflies with nectar similar to that of many flowers. However, it is not a “host plant” for butterfly larvae; if you want the butterflies to stay, be sure to add native host plants such as milkweed, aster, and dill. 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 United States. Also, there are newer varieties that stay compact and won’t take over your garden. See our native list of butterfly bushes below.

Please check with your local cooperative extension for more information.

Planting

Choose a location with full sun and moist, well-draining 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 root ball. 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 Bushes

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

  • Since butterfly bushes bloom on new wood, even if there is no dieback, 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.

Pests and Problems

  • Susceptible to capsid bugs, caterpillars, weevils, mullein moths, and spider mites.
  • Fungal leaf spots and die-backs can occur.
  • Butterfly bushes are one of many deer-resistant plants.

Types

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 to Butterfly Bushes

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

Shrubs and Trees

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana.

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Chelsy</span> Fri, 04/22/2016 - 09:41
I live in zone 5. Since I'll be cutting down my bushes every year, and I assume they'll never grow full size, how closely can I space them? Do they still need to be 5-10 feet apart?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 04/22/2016 - 14:40

Our 5 to 10 foot distance is the same as that recommended by the National Gardening Association and depends on species. Read the plant tag closely for specifics on your type or consult the source from which you bought it.  If you plant them too close, your will have poor air circulation and other challenges which will stree the plant. These are meant to spread out. Again check the plant tag. And, just a thought, if you are planning this as a hedge row...perhaps there is another option.

 <span>Ruth</span> Tue, 04/19/2016 - 12:22
Sine we live in zone 4 and the Butterfly Bush is for zones 5 & up, would it help to cover the base of the bush with layers of leaves in late fall and hopefully the bush would not die?
<span>Kathleen Sabol</span> Sun, 04/17/2016 - 11:07
I planted a butterfly bush last year but did not cut it back. I live in PA and with the winters I was wondering how strong they are? It now looks like it is dead but the branches are still viable. Can I cut it back now and will it still resurface?
<span>Karen Fulton</span> Mon, 04/18/2016 - 10:51
My butterfly bush looks dead. The branches are still viable. Should I cut it back now?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 04/19/2016 - 15:42

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.

 <span>Karen Vinson</span> Sun, 04/17/2016 - 10:03
I have a butterfly bush that sent up new shoots, forming a whole other bush. Can I dig the new one up to transplant or does it share a complete root system?
<span>Azalea Toliver</span> Fri, 04/15/2016 - 15:43
My butterfly bush has crinkle leaves with no bugs and no poison having ever been put in that area. Help also there are two of them very far apart and they both have same thing
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 04/15/2016 - 17:15

Check for spider mites. Look for small orange specks under the leaves. Spray the bushes with a stream of water to knock the mites off and then apply insecticidal soap or horticultural oil to the leaves.

 <span>Minnie</span> Sat, 04/02/2016 - 19:07
Can this bush thrive well in New England climate