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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>Ashley</span> Mon, 04/20/2020 - 15:05
I am new to having butterfly bushes. I bought one last summer and planted it and it did great! I was unaware that it needed to be pruned back so I got it pruned back a couple weeks ago, early spring. I don't think it is re-growing though. :( It's cut pretty much down to the ground, and there a some small green leaves on the bottom, coming off the stem that was cut. Is that considered re-growth? I am planning on getting a couple more plants to place in my garden but I wanted to try and save this one if still able to. I am in central Illinois and its been cooler so far this spring, would that effect the growth?
<span>Terri Tripani</span> Tue, 03/17/2020 - 08:36
This is an invasive species that is harmful to our eco system. Do not trust the 'sterile' varieties. Please read Doug Tallamy's books. Plant native host plants.
<span>Shan</span> Sun, 02/23/2020 - 11:11
It's a warm spring already in Northern Cal. I didn't know these plants need to be cut back. Now my butterfly bush is 8-9 feet tall and leaning over to the ground. Is it to late to cut back? It looks like it has new growth on it. Any suggestions?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 02/24/2020 - 10:08

You can prune back Butterfly bush (Buddleia) in late winter or early spring to encourage more new growth and flowers. Don't worry. Many summer-flowering shrubs grow quickly and can take heavy pruning. You can cut Buddleias back every year to 10 to 12 inches, and they will become six-foot giants again by the end of summer.

 <span>Denise</span> Tue, 01/28/2020 - 19:04
My butterfly bush got too big and split in half and then died. I will buy another one in the next month--it was so beautiful and the butterflies and bees loved it. It must be invasive up north bc I never dead-headed it and I have no seedlings.
<span>Dj Christman</span> Mon, 11/04/2019 - 21:01
6 - 12 feet
<span>Blackbird</span> Wed, 08/07/2019 - 22:04
I have a beautiful & healthy Butterfly Bush in a bed right next to my front door-The bees LOVE this bush so I absolutely want to keep it but I’d like to relocate it to the backyard garden away from my front door (my dog was recently stung by a bee while entering the house). I live on the coast in Massachusetts & the Bush is approximately 6 years old; I’d very much appreciate any advice about how/when to relocate this bush. Thanks!
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 08/09/2019 - 11:16

Luckily, butterfly bushes are vigorous growers and are easily transplanted! The best time to transplant perennial plants is in the fall or early spring, when they're neither flowering nor producing new growth.

In your case, wait until early to mid-fall, when temperatures start to cool off, then dig and transplant the bush. Once in the ground, the foliage may look a little sad for a while, but it will recover once the roots re-establish themselves (or the foliage will die back in winter anyway, if it normally does). If rain is infrequent, be sure to keep the bush watered after transplanting. Before hard frost and snow arrive, you may want to add a 2-3 inch layer of mulch over top of the plant—just as added protection for this winter.

 <span>Mike Meyer</span> Sat, 07/20/2019 - 12:46
Why are my flowers on my butterfly bush not lasting very long. About one or two days. These are the big purple ones. The reddish ones last much longer.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 07/23/2019 - 08:49

That is strange. A butterfly bush will bloom all summer long. Several plants go by the common name Butterfly Bush. Are you definitely referring to Buddleia davidii, which blooms on new growth?

Of course, if your busy is NOT flowering, that's usually an issue of pruning at the wrong time. Stems should be pruned back in late winter moving into early spring to encourage large, lush flower spikes. You can let it grow into a shrub form, (which could eventually be about 12'x15') but your flower "show" won't be as spectacular. Avoid pruning in late spring, summer, fall, or early winter. 

But you're saying your flowers DO bloom and just do not last a long time. Is your bush getting enough sun? A butterfly bush LOVES sun and requires a minimum of 8 hours of bright sunlight.

Also, try removing (deadheading) the spent blooms periodically during the summer to encourage additional new growth and subsequent flowers until frost.