Butterfly Bush — Great For Late Summer Blooms
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- August
- 23
If you want to start a butterfly garden, I can’t imagine a better first plant than butterfly bush, or Buddleia davidii.
This handsome flowering shrub really comes into its own in late August and lasts well into the fall if you keep deadheading the spent blooms to encourage new growth.
The pale green leaves and tiny lacy flowers that cover the ends of each of the long panicles give the plant a soft, delicate appearance.
But don’t be deceived — this is one tough perennial. It thrives in long periods of hot weather and drought and comes right through most Hudson Valley winters. Deer resistant, too.
Butterflies, bees and hummingbirds love this plant. It’s not unusual for me to see five monarchs at a time feasting on the honey-scented flowers of a single plant.
Butterfly bushes like rich, moist soil with good drainage and plenty of sunshine. They come in a wide array of colors: white, pink, lavender, purple and mauve.
When new buds begin to emerge in March or April, you can cut back your butterfly bushes pretty drastically. I cut mine to about 12 to 18 inches. Just be sure to wait until you see new growth at the bottom of the stems.
Here’s this same stand of butterfly bush after a spring haircut.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, August 23rd, 2007 at 10:58 am by Bill Cary.
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Bill Cary grew up in Louisville, Ky. His gardening was limited to growing parsley and impatiens on the windowsill of Manhattan walkups until the mid-1990s when he bought a rundown old chicken farm on 8 acres in the Hudson Valley. Now he spends his weekends chasing deer, hacking away at invasive shrubs and vines and wondering why he doesn`t have more meadow and less lawn.
yet another one i think we have somewhere around the property. thanx again for that name as well
I see its very similar to the phlox.