True Blue Butterfly Bush (2024)

FAQs

How big do true blue butterfly bushes get? ›

Has strong stems and upright habit and matures at 4 to 6 feet tall and 6 feet wide. Great for borders and landscape plantings. New plantings require more frequent watering than established plants.

Butterfly bushes grow and spread aggressively, often out-competing native plants. This can disrupt local ecosystems and decrease food and habitat availability for beneficial insects and other wildlife.

Light: Butterfly bushes grow and flower best in full sun. They will grow fine in part shade, especially in warmer climates, but their flowering may be reduced. Soil: Butterfly Bushes are not particular about the soil conditions, as long as it drains well. Poorly-drained soils can cause root rot.

Butterfly Bush benefits pollinators but only at one stage of their life cycle. It attracts butterflies because it provides copious nectar. However, butterflies need host plants on which to lay eggs and on which their caterpillars feed. Not a single native caterpillar eats Butterfly Bush leaves.

Typically, a butterfly bush will live about 10 years. You may find some plants that live longer than that, but it's a rare case. Proper care of a butterfly bush will help it live longer and thrive in your garden.

butterfly bush doesn't stay in your yard

Butterfly bush is an invasive plant, meaning it crowds out beneficial plants that have naturally grown in your community for centuries. This species originally from Asia readily takes over space where native North American plants would normally thrive.

The scientists chose the butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii) for their experiment because it's a very hardy plant that flowers throughout the year, and mosquitoes are attracted to it.

Butterfly Bush is a problem in the environment in several ways. First, it out-competes native plants, taking up the space they need. Second, because it produces abundant nectar, pollinators often ignore flowers on native plants, depriving them of the pollination they need to reproduce.

It forms thick, shrubby thickets that preclude the development of other native species such as willow. Butterfly bush is considered invasive in many states, as well as England and New Zealand. Some states, like Oregon, have even banned sales of the plant.

As you can imagine, the butterfly bush is famous for attracting butterflies, though hummingbirds enjoy its large, fragrant flowers as well.

What month do you plant butterfly bushes? ›

Butterfly bushes do best when planted in early spring or summer, but when the temperatures are hotter keep them well-watered. An island bed planted with a butterfly bush (or several) will help attract these lovely pollinators.

The coffee grinds provide nitrogen & tannic acids to the soil. Acid loving plants such as azaleas, blueberries, butterfly weed, camellias, ferns, gardenias, lupines & rhododendrons especially love coffee grinds.

Is Butterfly Bush Toxic for Dogs? While they are not edible, they are also not poisonous to dogs, cats, or humans. Eating a large quantity (we mean a lot) of leaves, stems, or flowers can cause an upset stomach. It is certainly safe for your dogs!

Butterfly bushes come in 2 general categories- a “larger” size that grows between 3 to 5 feet in width and 5 to 10 feet in height and the “dwarf” size that grows between 2 to 4 feet in width and 2 to 4 feet in height.

Butterfly bush is known for its rapid growth, up to two feet in height per year or more. It can reach its mature size in just one or two growing seasons.

Large blue butterflies are one of the largest in the family Lycaenidae, known as the gossamer-winged butterfly, with a wingspan of up to 2 inches (51 millimetres), and live only for a few weeks.

For non-dwarf butterfly bushes, cut back to 12 to 24 inches and remove any dead or broken branches. (Or cut back nearly to the ground. Butterfly bushes will still resprout and bloom!) For dwarf types such as 'Blue Chip' and 'Buzz', cut back by at least half the height in early spring.