Attract beautiful butterflies to your garden with a butterfly bush.
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Planting, Growing, and Pruning Butterfly Bushes
The butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) is a fast-growing shrub with masses of showy, fragrant flowers that attract pollinators. Planted in spring or fall before frost, this perennial will bloom from summer through autumn. Learn how to grow a butterfly bush (and learn if you should plant a butterfly bush).
About Butterfly Bushes
Also called “summer lilacs,” Buddleja are hardy to Zone 5 and remain evergreen from Zone 8 south. Growing 5 to 10 feet tall, this large, arching shrub produces an abundance of flowers—long, spiked trusses—in mainly purple and pink colors. The shrub grows well in perennial gardens or as a shrub border, and the flowers are good for cutting.
Don’t prune at the wrong time. Butterfly bush growth appears on new wood, so pruning should wait until the new wood is ready to grow in spring. Also, be patient with this shrub as it may not leaf out in the spring until after other perennials.
Invasive Concerns of Butterfly Bushes
Please note that the butterfly bush, originally imported from China, has been classified as an invasive species in many U.S. states as it’s known to crowd out native plants that are essential to wildlife. In warm climates, it can become a noxious weed and spread aggressively, while in cooler climates, it mostly stays contained if gardeners deadhead the flowers.
Note: The butterfly bush does provide adult butterflies with nectar similar to that of many flowers. However, it is not a “host plant” for butterfly larvae; if you want the butterflies to stay, be sure to add native host plants such as milkweed, aster, and dill. See plants that attract butterflies.
If you would still like to put a butterfly bush in your garden, there are a few species of non-invasive butterfly bushes native to the southwestern United States. Also, there are newer varieties that stay compact and won’t take over your garden. See our native list of butterfly bushes below.
Please check with your local cooperative extension for more information.
Catherine Boeckmann
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I have three different varieties of butterfly bush and all are thriving. I live out west where the plants are not invasive. I give them a hard pruning in January or February and deadhead throughout the year. I learned from a nurseryperson to give them an overhead spray of water during the dusty summer months. If let go, the plants' stomas (pores) become clogged, the plant lets out a distress call alerting neighboring plants and hungry insects. Since I've followed the nurseryperson's advice I've had no problems. I've found the plant lives up to its name by attracting a variety of butterflies (and bees).
FA wrote: The butterfly bush does provide adult butterflies with nectar similar to that of many flowers. However, it is not a “host plant” for butterfly larvae; if you want the butterflies to stay, be sure to add native host plants such as milkweed, aster, and dill.
Hi Catherine, thank so much for your information about how this species is invasive. I'm glad you encourage people to go with native plants. Please keep this up!
Hi Catherine, thank so much for your information about how this species is invasive. I'm glad you encourage people to go with native plants. Please keep this up!
I am glad you point out the deficiency of the butterfly bush and give alternative but I wish you had done the article on this alone instead of putting the bush on the spotlight. It is not a native plant, does nothing for butterflies except provide a quick snack and distract them from pollinating the native pollinators.
I am grateful for the list of alternatives.
I live on Vancouver Island where things tend to grow extremely well. I love the looks of butterfly bush and was hoping to get one until I attended a talk on alien invasive species. Butterfly bush was right up there along with yellow flag irises, giant hogweed, knotweed and daphne. These invasive species are taking over so that native plants are dying out and consequently wildlife is losing food sources and habitat. I'm sure butterfly bush is native somewhere but it's a bad idea for this area! I've already spent hours trying to dig out the matted mass of yellow iris rhizomes from a small pond in my garden. I don't know if I'll ever get them out. They are so pretty when they bloom but who knew? The Canadian government has invasive species resources for identification and offers alternatives for planting. I'd encourage all of us to do our homework before we bring home that "vigorous" plant from the nursery!
Hi! My Mother in law gave me a butterfly bush that was transplanted from her yard down our road. It's huge, and happy,but has never had flowers. I trim it every spring. Any advice would be appreciated!
Hi, Abbey. It sounds like your butterfly bush might be stressed. Is it planted in a spot where it gets a lot of sun? That is important. Also, go easy on the fertilizer. Sometimes too much fertilizer can encourage leaf growth but stunt blooms. If this season once again disappoints without blooms, we would suggest cutting it down to about four inches above the soil in early spring. Good luck!
Hi, Question: 2 out of 3 of my butterfly may possibly be dead, one of which is 5 feet from the other. I'm hoping they are going to start new growth. I don't cut or prune them. I'm not sure what to do, I've read to trim them (dead head) then one article said cut them to the ground. Does any one have any different ideas or let me know what I should do. Thank you.
Rick
Hi, Rick. The best thing to do is to severely cut the bush back. The sooner the better. This type of care is done in late fall or early spring.
