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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

<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Thu, 07/11/2013 - 12:23
Spider mites can kill leaves and aphids can do a job on the bush. Earwigs also enjoy eating the leaves. Give the bush some extra compost or aged manure. Check any new growth for bugs and spray with horticultural oil or a dish soap and water mixture.
<span>Karenina</span> Wed, 07/10/2013 - 13:49
My butterfly bush split down the middle of the trunk. Should I try and tie it up or just leave it and prune it in the fall. I'm wondering it I didn't plant it deep enough, I got it at the end of the season and it was dying. I didn't think it was going to make it, but it did. I live in central Alabama. Thanks! Blessings!
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 07/15/2013 - 16:11
Hard to know exactly the origin of the problem exactly but excess moisture (rain!) could be the culprit. (Hasn't there been a lot of rain down your way?) If leaf and other growth is continuing, you could tie it up for the remainder of the season. In any case, prune it in the fall as directed above. Congratulations on saving it from dying. It should come back again next season.
<span>Dustydeemk</span> Mon, 07/08/2013 - 15:16
I moved to my home just over 2 years ago and have 2 butterfly bushes. I do prune them back to the ground and they did fine with that last year. This year the greenery is beautiful and it is blooming but the blooms do not look real healthy. They are usually very purple and large. This year they are very small and not as vibrant. We have had alot of rain in the past several weeks. Could this be causing a problem. The bed they are in does have good drainage so the soil does not stay overly wet. Any suggestions?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 07/09/2013 - 10:15
Keep pruning. If you prune your butterfly bushes to within one foot of the ground, it should enhance the flower display. In terms of good bloom: Did you prune at the right time? Be sure to prune in spring before new growth begins since they flower on new growth. Don't prune in the fall or winter to avoid cold damage. Deadheading to lengthen blooming as well.
<span>Eileen Mullinaux</span> Thu, 07/04/2013 - 13:06
I have 5 small plants still in their 4" H x 2" W pots, bought over the Internet. We have a lot of hardpan on our property, which has stunted oranges, for example. How deep should I try to dig the hole, now that it's so small, and anticipating that the roots will hit hardpan. Should I mound first? How big will the rootball get? I'm in 9b and want to plant in July, just to get them going and stable before winter.
<span>Candy Robinson</span> Tue, 07/09/2013 - 00:28
What's your geographic location? We have lots of these shrubs planted in our yard & have had no problems growing them. They bloom w/little care. Dig your hole 6-8 inches deep. If the roots aren't coming out of the bottom of the pots yet, that should be deep enough. Then I would get a bag of "good" potting soil and fill the hole back up w/that. Does water penetrate your ground or stand on top? I'd try to work some kind of leafy mulch-type compost material around the plants after they are planted. Hope this helps! I'd get them in the ground quickly. Keep them watered though, so they can establish roots prior to winter!
<span>Sunadcor</span> Tue, 07/02/2013 - 22:48
My two new buddleias (planted professionally last August) are growing fine, except some of the lower branches are falling off the trunk at the soil line. We live in zone 4 and have had a very wet spring. I can't see any bugs but they do have bark mulch almost up to the trunk. Is this a bad sign for the health of the plants? What can I do ? I also see this happening to the Shasta daisys. Thank you!
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 07/09/2013 - 10:11
It's hard for us to diagnose from here but usual problems are: it's planted too deeply, there's too much mulch around base, it's suffering from a pest, the rootball dried out at planting time, or your soil is too soggy. Though the butterfly bush is quite resilient, it is essential to have well-drained soil as their roots will quickly rot when waterlogged.
<span>Carolyn Holody</span> Sun, 06/30/2013 - 22:20
I planted a red butterfly bush about two weeks ago and it was doing well until we had three days of Michigan rainstorms. It started to wilt and droop really bad, so I dug it out of very saturated soil and put it in pot that I had from another flower that I planted. I haven't been watering it since it was so wet, but it hasn't perked up since I put it in the pot. Will it eventually start coming back to life, or has it been damaged due to being over watered? I hope that I can nurse it back to health so I can find a better place to plant it. Please advise me what to do. I read the Old Farmer's Almanac and I trust your advice. Thank you.