Butterfly bush
- Thread starter veg11
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If it is the same butterfly bush as I have - Buddleia davidii, - long greyish -green leaves & drooping plumes of tiny flowers? Yes, it is a lovely thing & the butterflies really do like it. Quite an 'informal' growth habit so needs plenty of room. Likes sun & well drained soil. Cut it back hard to the ground each spring & feed it . It will send up fresh growth & dozens of blooms. Enjoy.
My Aunt has one that is more like a tree! It was supposed to be a bush, but it is quite the big thing so I am wondering if it was labeled incorrectly at the store?
It is quite pretty and she gets a lot of butterflies each year too, so yes they do work. She gets different kinds of butterflies, but more Monarchs then others since that is what we have a lot of around here.
You will enjoy your butterfly bush!
It is quite pretty and she gets a lot of butterflies each year too, so yes they do work. She gets different kinds of butterflies, but more Monarchs then others since that is what we have a lot of around here.
You will enjoy your butterfly bush!
Pink Cinderella Butterfly Bush blooms June through August.
http://www.4seasonsnurseries.com/store/7674-pink-butterfly-plant
http://www.4seasonsnurseries.com/store/7674-pink-butterfly-plant
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Don't know about the USA but in Britain, they are an absolute nuisance. Outlets are no longer allowed to sell ones other than sterile varieties.
Logan
Logan
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Very nice plant but deadhead it after flowering.
Queen of Hearts Butterfly Bush
I have one! And will probably get another. Have it facing SW so it's getting a ton of sun which it likes. Beautiful and fragrant purple blooms for most of the summer and into fall. I used the 10-10-10 miracle grow hose end sprayer 3-4 times spring into summer - once per month.
My in laws also have a bunch of them and said not to cut them back ever but disagree; their's is massive but it's also not as dense and very woody. I just wait to prune it till early spring when there's no more risk of frost and then basically cut it all the way down to the ground. It grows right back up almost 5-6 feet high throughout spring and summer. If you want blooms earlier you can maybe not trim as much but imo it needs to be trimmed. It just looks neater and much more dense when cut back too; basically treat them like my forsythia - if you don't trim those either they get very woody and sparse.
They attract all kinds of creatures - butterflies, hummingbird moths, bees and have even seen hummingbirds on them as well.
Thought I had a picture of them but looks like only of them in the background of the sunflower (taken mid-August after trimming down to the ground in late April):
I'm in New England zone 5a if that helps.
My in laws also have a bunch of them and said not to cut them back ever but disagree; their's is massive but it's also not as dense and very woody. I just wait to prune it till early spring when there's no more risk of frost and then basically cut it all the way down to the ground. It grows right back up almost 5-6 feet high throughout spring and summer. If you want blooms earlier you can maybe not trim as much but imo it needs to be trimmed. It just looks neater and much more dense when cut back too; basically treat them like my forsythia - if you don't trim those either they get very woody and sparse.
They attract all kinds of creatures - butterflies, hummingbird moths, bees and have even seen hummingbirds on them as well.
Thought I had a picture of them but looks like only of them in the background of the sunflower (taken mid-August after trimming down to the ground in late April):
I'm in New England zone 5a if that helps.
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My butterfly bush only seems to have attracted the rabbits who have kept it about ankle high for the last two years...
I planted one about a month ago. It was about three feet high and had the lavender flowers on it. Monarchs and Swallowtails found it immediately! They do love it. The house behind me has one or two by their back fence that are neglected and they are huge. But they had tons of flowers on them (and butterflies) which made me go buy mine. I won't prune it next Spring just to see what happens.
