For daily wit & wisdom, get the Almanac newsletter.

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

More Like This

Comments

<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 07/29/2014 - 12:45

Plant your seedlings in bigger pots now and transplant into the ground in the fall. See our planting instructions on this page. Before the cold weather arrives add mulch up to 6 inches deep around the plants to protect them from winter chills. Good luck!

 <span>Cathy Stroud</span> Tue, 07/29/2014 - 17:58
Thank you so much for your quick reply about my butterfly bush seedlings. Besides the two I mentioned, Just yesterday I found in a large pot that last year sat under my butterfly bush, several young butterfly bushes from six to ten inches tall. I have been pulling them out as weeds this spring and early summer to allow my hen and chicks to fill the pot. After noticing yesterday that their not weeds, today I dug them out and potted them in 6 and 8 inch pots a total of 18 butterfly bushes. Oh My!. I'll give most of them away and treat them as you instructed. We had a really hard winter last year and I lost two well established large butterfly bushes as I failed to mulch them last fall. I waited so long hoping they would survive and come back that when I finally gave up on them I then had to wait till late June for the local nurseries to get thier second shipment of them as so manny were lost to last winter in our area and the spring shipment sold out quickly. So now I'm overflowing with butterfly bushes. Have learned a hard lesson and will always mulch in anticipation of a long hard winter. Thanks again for your reply, Cathy Jo
<span>Amy Weir</span> Thu, 07/10/2014 - 14:04
I transplanted my butterfly bush from the garden this spring into a plot of pretty good soil mixed with a little sand. It is in full sun almost all day, I water it when there has not been a lot of rain, which by the way we had plenty of for the last 3 days. This morning the stems and leaves are all wilting, I watered it about 5 hours ago and it is still drooping. Is it getting to much sun to early in the morning? I love the colors and want it to live !!!!! Please HELP,,,, TY, Amy
<span>Frauchen</span> Wed, 07/09/2014 - 21:40
I live in San Antonio Tx. I did not cut back my butterfly bushes this spring and now they appear to be dying.....lots of woody stalks and few leaves after a gorgeous blooming season in the spring and early summer. do I cut back the dead stalks and continue to trim any spent blooms?
<span>Adam Dutton</span> Mon, 07/28/2014 - 12:20
We live in Georgia and I had the same problem last year. I cut everything down to about 8" off the ground. This was an eye sore for a while but at the end of the Spring, our butterfly grew back bigger and more beautiful than the ear before. This year, I did the same thing and had even better results!
<span>Sharlene Mclaughlin</span> Wed, 07/09/2014 - 15:03
I live just outside of Calgary Alberta Canada where I thought we lived in a zone 4, however I was informed we live in a zone 2-3a anyway question: can I grow buttery bushes here ? I have a direct south facing back yard which means I get sunshine all day . Yes we have rain. Yes we have cold winters yes we have frost so with all that will the butterfly bush grow here? Is there any special care they will need? Thank you for responding .
<span>Paul</span> Thu, 05/26/2016 - 23:31
Hi , I live in Calgary, I have three butterfly bushes growing in my yard for three years , the dark knight, miniature white and a red,.... They die to the ground every year but grow big and give many flowers every year.... I just cover with mulch in fall. They are zone five and we are zone three
<span>Jkieker</span> Tue, 05/26/2015 - 13:02
Did you end up planting the butterfly bushes, and if so, did they survive the winter? I ask because I am in Zone 4b, and want to plant these but not sure they will survive the harsh MN winters.
<span>Tammie M</span> Thu, 07/10/2014 - 11:07
I live in zone 3b ironically my butterfly bush came back the following year after one of the coldest winters on record in Minnesota. My butterfly bush is planted on the sunny most side of my yard that receives the most sunlight from morning till evening.
<span>Lize</span> Sun, 07/06/2014 - 11:26
My friend just gave me a butterfly bush. I reside in Bullhead City, AZ. The temperature here can get up to 123 degrees. I have very little shade. Can I put this bush in a planter or does it have to be in the ground. My friend also gave me a Russian Sage. I love flowers and plants of any kind. I am from NYC where plants are scarce in apartment living. Thank you.