Butterfly Bushes definitely live up to their name. I have a dozen of these bushes scattered through out the backyard and my children and I love watching the butterflies flit from bush to bush.
How to Grow Butterfly Bushes
How to Plant Butterfly Bushes
Plant Butterfly bushes in the spring or fall. They need full sun and well-drained soil. Think carefully about the location when planting they will grow to be over 4′ wide and 4′ to 6′ tall. Make sure you space butterfly plants 5 – 8 feet apart.
Dig your hole, twice large as the root ball, loosen the soil, mix in compost. When placing the plant in the hole, the top of the rootball should be level with the soil surface. fill in with soil that has been mixed with compost and water thoroughly.
Caring for Butterfly Bushes
In the summer, water if your rainfall is less than 1 inch per week. You can water freely during periods of growth, but you can cut back on your watering during periods of dormancy.
Each spring, apply a thin layer of compost. Other than that, you don’t need to worry about fertilizing your butterfly bush. Too much fertilizer supports leaf growth instead of flower production.
Each spring, apply a thin layer of mulch to retain moisture and control weeds. In cold climates, spread mulch up to 6 inches deep around the trunk to protect it through the winter. Remove the excess mulch in the spring, add a thin layer of compost and reapply a thin layer of mulch.
They will die back to the root in cold winters. Butterfly bushes are very late to break dormancy, so do not try to assess winter damage until very late spring.
Butterfly bushes bloom on new wood, so even if there is no winter die-back, cut them back to within 6 – 12 inches of the ground every spring to stimulate new growth on which flowers are produced.
Growing Butterfly Bushes
I think I would enjoy these hardy plants even if they didn’t attract so many butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. They require very little water, do not mind poor soil, are unfazed by 100 degree heat, and can survive –20 degree winters. Around here they are known as easy keepers!
The bushes in my backyard, die back to the ground in the winter. I have a microclimate which is a little warmer in the front yard and the bushes there remain green year round. I advise putting at least 6 inches of mulch around the plants in the fall if you live in zones 4 – 6, to help them weather the winter.
I have bushes with pink, white, and lavender flowers, though none of the white flowers have opened yet. They remind me of lilacs with all of their little trumpet flowers. They differ from lilacs, in that they do not have a short flowering season. They will bloom from spring to fall, unless they are under unusual stress. Once the temperatures reach the mid 90’s my Butterfly Bushes stop producing new flowers. They resume once the temperatures drop back to the 80’s.
In the picture above, is a spent flower, flanked by two blooming spikes, with another flower beginning to form lower on the branch. I think the spent flowers still look pretty, so I leave them for a while. However, removing spent flowers does encourage new shoots and flower buds.
The flowers start opening from the base and work their way to the tip of the spike. They do not drop their blooms once they are done flowering, so they must be pruned. I don’t think there is any agreed upon way to prune Butterfly Bushes, though most gardeners agree that they are very forgiving and will survive just about any pruning they receive.
To save money on landscaping our yard with butterfly bushes, I bought 1 gallon sized plants. They grow fairly quickly and within in 2 years our bushes were over 4 feet tall. If you buy small plants, keep in mind the fact that they will 6 feet high and 3 – 4 feet wide when you are planning where to plant them.
Grace says
I’ve had a white Butterfly Bush for four years & it hasn’t grown much in size. it’s still pretty sparse in size at around 2ft x 2ft. It blooms every year in September. It’s planted in full sun & I’m in zone at 5b. What am I doing wrong?
Jackey says
It’s possible you bought a small butterfly bush that won’t grow bigger. Some only get 2-3 feet tall.
Sheila says
Can I successfully grow a butterfly bush in zone 3?
Sandra says
What is the name of this butterfly bush so I can buy some.
marla wetterling says
I planted 6+ butterfly bushes in my backyard. I’ve had a couple that aren’t doing so well and then I have others that are way over 8 feet tall. I am going to try to stake it up as it is right next to our house. The butterflies and hummingbirds always flock to it. I didn’t the tall ones back at all this year, I’ll remember to do it in the late fall/early winter. Thanks for all the great ideas. Fernley, Nevada
Betty says
I am not permitted to plant in the yard in the retirement community I live in so I bought a butterfly bush and put it in a large container. It only grew to a foot tall, and bloomed beautifully! I have seen a few butterflies on it. I am planning to cut it back severely this fall and cover it with straw for the winter. Do you water it when its freezing outside. I wasn’t planning on it but someone said I should. I’m in Massachusetts so it gets really cold most all winter. Anybody?
Alea Milham says
Don’t prune it in the early winter! The stems are hollow and rain and snow can get down in there and freeze causing damage to the plant. I recommend pruning in late winter or early spring instead.
I only water my butterfly bushes in the winter if we don’t get very much snow. Usually, the snowmelt provides enough water. If your container is in an area where it gets limited precipitation, then you will want to water the plant whenever the daytime temperature gets over 50 degrees during the winter.
Sharon says
I wpuld like to
Propagate my butterfly bush. What is a soft root cutting?
Sylvia Garland says
I have been fertilizing my butterfly bushes with alfalfa straw, the kind you feed gerbils. U can buy at feed supply stores, like Southern States. I place the straw over the feeder roots, cover with light soil and mulch. The result u get is unbelievable. Bushes grow 8 feet+ and I have counted 200 plus blooms. At mid growing season, I trim, dead head, fertilize again and a second bloom rewards the butterflies until fall. Do not feed alfalfa granules for gerbils, I learned the hard way .
Heather says
I enjoy butterfly bushes… anything to bring in lovelies like the monarch:)
stopping by from TGP.
Nanna says
even if nothing grows in my itty bitty garden it's a joy to see the butterflies come around LOL
Helen