Butterfly bushes : Butterflies are one of nature’s most magical and beautiful creatures.
Butterfly bush, or simply butterfly bush is a plant native to Asia and Africa which bears attractive blooms in the spring. It is commonly used as an ornamental plant in parks, gardens, residential properties and conservatories.
Dig a hole three times as big as the root ball, and set your plant in the garden no deeper than it was growing in its nursery pot. For maximum impact, plant in masses.
Space them between 5 and 10 feet apart or, as instructed, for the type of variety you’re using.
How to Use in Your Landscape
You can create butterfly gardens in the lawn or garden area around your home. It as their name implies, are valuable for attracting butterflies to the yard. In addition to butterflies, the 3-foot to 5-foot long, pink to purple, trumpet shaped flower spikes attract bees, lady beetles and hummingbirds.
Butterfly bushes are the ideal plant for creating a spectacular year round butterfly garden. They spread very quickly and will add color, texture and fragrance to any garden.
Butterfly Bush Care
This book explains how to grow butterfly bush. If you want butterfly bush to bloom all summer, you’ll need to keep it well watered. If you’d prefer not to get your fingers wet when watering, consider purchasing an automatic butterfly bush mister.
A rose bush needs water regularly to develop strong roots. When the bush has been established for a while, it is relatively drought tolerant. Fertilizing isn’t usually necessary, because it encourages foliage at the expense of flowers.
Pruning is essential. You can prune your bushes any time, and you may need to prune a few times each summer to keep them under control. Deadhead fading flowers to encourage more blooms.
Mulch the plants generously to protect them during the winter. Many gardeners prune their butterfly bushes all the way to the ground in late winter. This dormant-season pruning allows extra root and evergy reserves to quickly heal the wounds and supports vigorous spring growth.
If you want to get your plants growing again, it’s time to prune your shrubs and trees. If you pruned last fall, you should wait until after dormancy has occurred. Otherwise, you could end up injuring your shrubs or trees.
Mice, ants and termites rarely bother Pest and Disease Buddleia. But, in addition to other insects, they can also be afflicted by molds and other fungal infections. These plants, too, are occasionally plagued by fungal infections.
If you see an insect in your garden, try spraying it with insecticidal soap and knocking it off with a strong blast of water from the hose. Be careful not to use pesticides, which also kill visiting butterflies, bees, and other beneficial garden creatures.
If you have a problem with fungi, especially damp-loving mushrooms, you can control the problem by watering the plants in the morning, before the dew evaporates. You can also use a soaker hose or drip irrigation if possible.
Popular Butterfly Bush Varieties
‘White Profusion’ – These tall, bushy, upright plants produce spikes of snowy-white flowers. ‘Black Knight’ – Grows to 6 feet, The flowers are dark purple. ‘Pink Delight’ – Pink flowers stand out against this plant’s silvery-green foliage.
It is sold under the name ‘Butterfly Bush’ and it is an upright, compact-size bush with lavender-colored flowers. ‘Miss Molly’ – A butterfly bush variety with ruby-red-pink flowers that grow up to 4 feet tall and spread up to 8 feet in width. ‘Peacock’ – A butterfly bush with a medium-sized rosy pink flower. ‘Raspberry’ – A dwarf type butterfly bush with light raspberry pink flowers.
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One of the best choices for a summer garden. It grows about one-third the size of other varieties. Summer Beauty – This compact variety grows 5 feet tall and just as wide, with deep pink flowers and grayish-green foliage.
Is butterfly bush invasive?
Butterfly bush is becoming more and more invasive in some areas, and is on plant watch lists and even banned in some states. It’s why we work with renowned plant breeder, Dr. Dennis Werner of North Carolina State University, to introduce seedless and non-invasive varieties, like the Lo & Behold® series and the “Miss” varieties.
These plants are approved for sale in Oregon, which others are not. In these states, they are sold as “summer lilacs” instead of “butterfly bushes” to clarify that they have been approved by their respective departments of agriculture.
Are butterfly bushes bad for butterflies?
It doesn’t seem that butterfly bushes are harmful for butterflies. They are attractive to butterflies because they have brightly colored flowers that are high in nectar. However, the nectar is only sufficient to sustain the butterflies themselves and does not provide nourishment for caterpillars.
If you want to create a butterfly-friendly garden, don’t just plant a butterfly bush, but instead plant a wide variety of trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals that bloom at different times to provide an ongoing, diverse buffet for the butterflies.
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The best plants to plant in your garden are those that are native to your area, so it’s important to make sure you know what native plants are available in your area.
How big do butterfly bushes get?
What size are butterfly bushes? These big shrubs range from 5 to 8 feet tall and just as wide once they reach maturity. If you’re looking for a smaller butterfly bush, try a dwarf variety, which are around two to three feet tall.
Pruning the butterflies bush every year will help keep the size of your shrub manageable.
Should you deadhead butterfly bushes?
How do I kill off the old leaves on my butterfly bushes so they don’t continue to shed new leaves? All of our butterfly bushes will bloom all summer long, no matter what you do, without deadheading (the process of removing seed heads). To eliminate the possibility of butterfly bush spreading, you can cut off and dispose of the seedheads left on the plant in autumn.
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