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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> Tue, 06/25/2013 - 11:11
You can prune now. New growth and blooms should reappear within weeks of pruning. These bushes can handle stress very well. Try to identify the bugs that attack your plants. A spray of water and mild dishwashing soap may get rid of aphids or spider mites. If you have beetles in the bushes set up beetle traps.
<span>Dawn Chianese</span> Sat, 06/22/2013 - 11:01
I just received a small unknown variety of a butterfly bush, but have only a small planting area that gets full sun. Can I plant it but leave it in the pot to keep it smaller?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 06/25/2013 - 11:16
You can plant it in the ground and keep it manageable by pruning. Don't let the bush go to seed. Clip off all flower heads in the fall.
<span>Dawn Chianese</span> Sat, 06/22/2013 - 10:59
I enjoyed reading your questions and comments
<span>Jason Seehafer</span> Thu, 06/20/2013 - 13:51
I recently bought a property which has 2 very large butterfly bushes (more like trees given their size). 10 feet wide and 10+ feet tall. I've read that butterfly bushes should be cut back to the ground every spring. Is that recommended in this instance?
<span>Jenm</span> Wed, 06/26/2013 - 16:11
My local nursery advised me that they should be cut back by 1/3 each spring. I did cut a couple of mine back to about 6-8 inches or so above the ground in late April. They did go into shock, but about the first of June they started growing again. If it's already hot where you are, perhaps you should wait until spring to cut them back.
<span>Kathleen F</span> Thu, 06/13/2013 - 19:08
I trimmed my butterfly bush in the fall not realizing you do it in the early spring. I have not yet seen any growth (Orange County, NY) yet. I am wondering if its just delayed from our unseasonable cold and wet June? Please advise.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 06/17/2013 - 13:32
If you had a cold, wet spring, then give them a bit longer. Fall pruning isn't ideal as it can increase the risk of cold damage. Did you have a tough winter? Did you have mulch or snow to insulate the roots? Do you have any new growth at all? You could try a scratch test on your plants; scratch the stalks near the base, and if you see green, they are still alive. We wish you well.
<span>Zoe99</span> Sun, 06/09/2013 - 13:04
My lawn service didn't see my nascent butterfly bush (which I cut down in the spring) and mowed over it last week (June 3). Will it come back next year if I protect it this year with mulch and a tomato cage (so the mowers know not to keep mowing over it)? Or should I dig it out and plant a new one?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 06/11/2013 - 14:21
You could try protecting the plant this year with mulch and a tomato cage. It may be that the plant will recover this year, producing some leafing branches. (You won't get flowers.) Depending on your hardiness zone, there might be enough time for the plant to re-establish itself a bit before winter. If there doesn't seem to be a response over the summer, you could replace it with another plant in fall or spring (which are the best planting times).