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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>Christopher Pollard</span> Mon, 05/14/2018 - 12:44
I live in an apartment with a nice little back yard probably 20 x30 maybe a little bigger it gets great sunlight wither that being said I’m not able to plant directly into soil how can I go about growing it in a pot
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 05/16/2018 - 09:08

Well, you can buy it and put it into a pot or buy it in a pot. Often, but not always, shrubs or trees sold in pots are in there pretty tightly. So transplant the bush into a larger pot soon after you buy it. How big? Several inches wider/deeper. You want to give the plant enough space to settle into—but you do not want to do this every year. (Because it is a bit of work and the plant may not perform well if it has to acclimate to a new "home" every year.) Make sure that the pot has holes in the bottom for drainage—and seriously consider putting the pot on a drip tray or other surface when you put it into the yard. If you do not, it could very well send roots out the drainage holes...and you would have a plant growing into your backyard soil, which, as you say, is not allowed.

 <span>Linda Bell</span> Sat, 03/31/2018 - 18:44
I planted three bushes last spring and enjoyed all summer. It is now April and I just read that I should have cut them back to the ground early spring. Should I still cut them back at this late date.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 05/08/2018 - 10:17

Early spring is a good time to prune butterfly bush (and rose of Sharon, blue mist spirea, and others). But better late than never is acceptable, too. You can do it now; just leave any new shoots you see. These plants have endurance.

 <span>John C</span> Sat, 05/05/2018 - 13:55
I too planted 4 butterly bushes last year and they were beautiful. Two were a dynamic color and two were white. Now, being the first week of May, I'm told to cut them all the way back. I'm so fearful that if I do that, I'll kill them.
<span>Donna</span> Tue, 11/28/2017 - 15:58
We were told to bring in off patio when frost is beginning. We have moved it into our apt. in a sunny location. How often do we water through the winter. We are hoping it will survive indoors over winter, then placed out on balcony next summer. Is there any other special care we should give it. We were told to bring it in cause roots would freeze and kill it if we left it out in the pot. Plus pot would probably crack from cold, we live in New York.
<span>Tami</span> Wed, 10/04/2017 - 17:39
When we bought our home (in northern Utah) it had 2 butterfly bushes about a foot and a half tall in summer of 2016. Now in early October 2017 they are about 7 feet tall and around 4 feet wide. They flower beautifully and attract butterflies. Exactly how much do we cut them back? And when, do we wait until next spring or can we prune now?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 10/06/2017 - 09:14

Hi Tami,

You can prune your butterfly bush as soon as the foliage dies back. Since they are considered an invasive, it's recommended to cut the bushes to the ground each fall. However, if you wish to have a larger bush, you can prune several feet of the new growth. Pruning aggressively will encourage strong blooms in the spring because butterfly bushes only bloom on new growth. 

 <span>Wendy</span> Sat, 09/23/2017 - 14:26
Just planted in So Cal but my "bush" does not look much like a bush, growing straight out rather than up. Should I stake it or something so it grows into a bush? Also, regarding your comment of "hack it down" in the spring, would that also apply here in Zone 10?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 09/29/2017 - 16:26

Hi Wendy,

Yes, you can stake the bush so it acquires the look you want. And also yes, you should hack it down to the ground in the spring to prevent it from becoming too well situated. It is extremely invasive, crowding out native species of flowers and plants, which are vital to our ecosystem.