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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>Brandon Bartlett</span> Mon, 06/22/2015 - 22:42
Linda. I do not have any hands on experience with black walnut, but I took a tree science class in college and was told that the leaves of black walnut are high in acid or another toxin I don't exactly remember witch. But they tend to kill grass and other plant life including sprouting walnut trees when they decompose. So it would most likely help if you rake any leaves that fall from your Black Walnut tree and not use them in your compost if you are trying to grow anything underneath them
<span>Gary1964</span> Sun, 07/19/2015 - 11:27
It is not the leaves of the black walnut that will cause you a problem. It is the root that kills other plants. The roots release a toxin in the soil to surrounding plants that will kill them. Few plants are immune to black walnut toxins. The only plants I know that are resistant are ginseng and black raspberries.The odd thing about black walnuts is depending on the weather and the rainfall determines the amount of toxins released by the roots. That is why plants will live next to a black walnut tree just fine one year and then die the next year. If you ever look at the ground around a black walnut tree you can tell where the major roots run. I have a garden near a walnut tree and you can draw a line through my garden to the tree. The plants will either be stunted or dead when the weather gets hot and dry. Plants a few feet away will be fine.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 05/18/2015 - 10:15

Hi Linda,

Some of our readers have had success growing a butterfly bush near a black walnut tree. Some varieties do better than others.

 <span>Randipandy</span> Wed, 04/08/2015 - 12:15
I started my Butterfly Bush from seed last year. The seedlings remained very small until late fall when they just shot up in height. Now they are about 1.5ft tall. At what point/height do I start pruning them? They do not have any flower blossoms on them. I live in Georgia.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 04/14/2015 - 12:00

The bush blossoms 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>Anonymous</span> Tue, 04/07/2015 - 21:40
I live in New Mexico near Albuquerque. My butterfly bush has got healthy looking green leaves. I planted it where it will get direct morning, and late afternoon sun. Some of the leave are turning black on the tips and curling. Is this a sign of watering too much?.....or is it being caused by something else?
<span>Leslie Kim</span> Mon, 04/06/2015 - 10:34
We planted butterfly bushes last summer and they did well all through the growing season. I have read that they should be cut back in early spring, but I've found conflicting information about how far to cut them back: some sources say to cut them back to the ground; others say to cut them back to 1-2 feet high. My bushes are probably about 2 feet tall and this is their first spring in the ground. We live in Northern VA and they are planted in full sun at the top of a small slope, so the soil gets decent drainage. I'm not sure how far to cut them back, or if I even should this first year...any guidance is greatly appreciated!
<span>Troy And Amber</span> Fri, 03/27/2015 - 22:40
I live in southern Florida and have 2 butterfly bushes that, while green and growing,are not blooming. I have been feeding osmocote and since reading the instructions on this site, am worried I may have over fertilized. I would love to see blooms this year, how do I correct this mistake? Thank you for any advice.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 03/31/2015 - 11:13

Butterfly bushes only bloom on "new" growth. Have you ever pruned it back? Hard as it is to do (and maybe believe), these plants thrive when they are cut back to 12 to 24 inches high, ideally in early spring—or, thinking of south Florida, when spring conditions exist. If your plant is already leafing out, prune out some of the older branches. Sprinkle fertilizer around the drip line (outer "ring" of branch shadows; not at stem) in March or April, and then again in mid-summer. No need to overdo it. Just as, if not more, important is good, rich compost. If that's not at the base of the plant now, get some, and gently scrape off some of the existing soil and work compost in. Put down some moisture-holding mulch, too.

 <span>Mick Bolton</span> Thu, 03/12/2015 - 13:30
Here in the UK Buddleia Davidii are viewed as a somewhat two edged sword in the garden. At best they are a great attractant to butterflies, bees and other nectar feeders. At worst they are an invasive weed. They need savage pruning when dormant if they're not to become a nuisance plant. And don't be fooled that they will suffer if they're not pampered and mulched over the winter period. They breeze through it with no apparent harm. Control them or they will control you!