yardener logo - click to go to home page
Yardener's Advisor Newsletter: Sign In / Subscribe


Search Yardener

  • Home
  • Find Info
    • Plant Helper
    • Plant And Pest Problem Solver
    • Toolshed of Products
    • Buy Books And Videos By Jeff Ball
    • Watch Yardening Videos By Jeff Ball
    • Nancy's Blog
    • About Us
  • Ask Nancy! (Free Q&A)
    • Ask A Question For Free!
    • View A List Of Answered Questions
  • Free Monthly Newsletter Subscription!
    • Sign Up
    • About
  • Free Videos
  • Want To Help Us?

    • 1) Donate Via PayPal
    • 2) Share This
  • Looking For Products?
    • 1) Shop At amazon.com logo

Home Page > Yardener's Plant Helper > Landscape Plant Files > Files About Shrubs > Shrub Files > Butterfly Bush

Butterfly Bush

Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)

An increasingly popular flowering shrub for residential yards and gardens, the butterfly bush deserves its reputation for vigorous growth, colorful, reliable blooms and resistance to pest problems. Also known as summer lilac, this shrub was introduced into the United States from China around 1900. Since then many varieties have been developed and it is grown all over the country. A butterfly bush is easy to care for and has no serious pest or disease problems. As its name suggests, it is a favorite of butterflies which eagerly visit while it is in bloom. In fact, it is at the top of any list of plants that attract butterflies. The davidii types are most popular and are easy to find in many colors.

Size: While they are capable of growing from 10 to 15 feet tall, butterfly bushes typically grow from 6 to 8 feet tall over one season because most are cut back to the soil each year. They grow virtually as wide as they are tall. Monrovia Nurseries Petite Series released in 2003 are dwarf, growing to only 4 or 5 feet tall.

Foliage: Butterfly bush foliage is deciduous, dropping off in the fall. Leaves are coarse-textured, but subdued in appearance. Individual ones are broadly lance-shaped, usually from 4 to 12 inches long and 1 to 3 inches wide. They are a dull, bluish or grayish-green on top and pale, almost silvery, underneath. They have smooth edges and rounded tips and grow opposite each other along the stems. One type of butterfly bush has variegated foliage with irregular creamy-white edges. While their foliage occasionally turns yellow in autumn before it drops, butterfly bushes do not have any ornamental fall foliage color.

Flowers and Fruit: The flowers on a butterfly bush are made up lots of tiny florets that have orange centers. They form tubular clusters resembling narrow lilac blooms. These clusters may be anywhere from 4 inches to 10 inches long, sometimes growing upright, sometimes drooping somewhat from the tips of the branches. Blossoms are fragrant and may be lilac, purple, blue, shades of pink or red, or white. Flowers begin to appear in early to mid-summer, appearing steadily until frost. During the season as each blossom fades it gives way to 1/4 to 1/3 inch long dried capsules which have no ornamental value. Clip these off as they form to encourage more new blossoms.

  • read more:
  • Butterfly Bush Choices
  • Using Butterfly Bush
  • Planting Butterfly Bush
  • Caring For Butterfly Bush
  • Problems of Butterfly Bush


Do you have a gardening question? Ask Nancy



Our Privacy Policy       Contact Us

©2003-2021 Yardener.com, All Rights Reserved
YARDENER is a registered service mark
copyright material is protected by copyscape.com, do not copy our content without permission