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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>Brooke618</span> Mon, 06/09/2014 - 12:53
I have a butterfly bush that was well established when we bought our house 12 years ago. So it is quite old. It has withstood severe damage from a hurricane but this winter was extremely cold (in Baltimore) and now the bush has not come back. My husband cut it down to about 1 ft tall in late fall. I am concerned that it's truly dead but I haven't completely given up. It's now June 9th and is getting quite warm here. Is there any hope left for it to come back?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 06/13/2014 - 16:10

Don't give up yet! Many areas of the county has had delayed growth on trees and bushes.

 

 <span>Janine Barta</span> Sat, 06/07/2014 - 22:00
Hi, I live in Garland Texas, and just bought my mom 3 butterfly bushes for her 70th birthday. She wants them planted against her back wooden fence. I know they need to be planted 5-6 ft apart from each other, but my question is how far from the fence should we go? I have seen 2-3 ft. and another site said 5-6 ft. I am not the green thumb that my mom is, but she has just been diagnosed with early stages of Alzheimer's and I am leery of following her advice on this. Thanks.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 06/09/2014 - 01:41

What a lovely birthday idea--to attract butterflies! A fence provides extra shelter for the delicate winged beauties, too. In terms of how far back to plant your butterfly bushes from the fence: You need to find out the maximum spread of the variety; the nursery (or shop) you bought them from should be able to tell you if it's not on the label. When the plant is fully grown, you don't want to squashed or pushing against the fence.  For example, see examples on this page which list the mature spread of different varieties: http://www.naturehills.com/bushes-and-shrubs/butterfly-bushes The mature spread can vary from 3 to 6 feet.

 <span>Cmberman</span> Fri, 06/06/2014 - 09:23
I have a butterfly bush planted at the house base in an area that gets 8-10 hours of sun per day. The soil drains well and the only rain run off is from the front of a single story house as a gutter is just above. In the spring the bush is covered with fresh green leaves but as time goes on the leaves along the bush seem to wither and turn brownish exposing wood and only the tips maintain any green foliage and the blooms are very limited in number as size. It try to water regularly when there is no rain but it doesn't seem to help. How much should I water and do you have any other suggestions.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 06/06/2014 - 15:17
Do you cut back your butterfly bush in the spring? It should be cut down to about 1 to 2 feet each year.
<span>A. R. Meek</span> Thu, 06/05/2014 - 16:54
I live in area of Austin, TX and wild deer are everywhere unless one builds a 6 ft fence. How resistant is a butterfly bush to deer?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 06/06/2014 - 15:20
There are truly no deer-proof bushes, but butterfly bush has proven to be deer resistant. Good luck!
<span>Cperrino</span> Thu, 05/29/2014 - 10:25
Live in Illinois - Chicago area. New home and new to gardening. Just reading that I should have cut back my butterfly bush early Spring. Is End of May too late? Thanks.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 05/30/2014 - 11:36
Do not worry about your butterfly bush. They are resilient. I was in a similar situation last year, moving into a new house with a butterfly bush. I did not cut it back and it bloomed beautifully all summer. Do cut it back next spring though.