by Kimberley A. Willis

Created on: August 26, 2009   Last Updated: August 28, 2009

Buddleia - The Butterfly Bush is Always Buzzing

For late summer color and fragrance, and a beautiful feeding station for butterflies, nothing beats the Butterfly Bush. Even smaller gardens can now enjoy this easy to care for plant, as dwarf varieties have been developed. Hummingbirds and bees also appreciate the buddleias and they add color and structure to the garden as well.

Buddleia is also known by the common name of Summer Lilac. Butterfly Bush is a much better name because it truly draws a circus of colorful butterfly species. Some books may spell the Latin name of Butterfly Bush as Buddleja.

Most buddleias are native to China and Japan, although there are a few from other semi-tropical areas of the world, including the southern United States. Most Butterfly Bushes on the market are selections of Buddleia davidii, but there are a few other species on the market. The plants form woody stems in warm climates but die to the ground in colder ones. The leaves of buddleia are long and narrow and range from deep green to silvery green. There are some varieties with variegated leaves. Butterfly bush is classified as a semi-shrub, or semi- woody, and most varieties get quite large and tall, 3 foot wide by 6 foot or higher, in one growing season. Smaller varieties have been developed that suit small spaces better. Buddleia has numerous plumes of tiny colorful flowers, which begin opening at the bottom and continue to open for several days to the tip. The flowers are tube shaped with 4 or 5 petals. Colors ranges from white to nearly black, many flowers have orange or yellow throats. Many varieties of buddleia are fragrant, but it is not an over-powering scent.

Growing Buddleias

There are varieties of butterfly bush that are hardy from zone 5-9, but before purchasing check the zone hardiness, as some varieties may not be hardy in your zone. Buddleia is usually purchased as a plant and starts blooming at a very young age. It can be started easily from seed however, and will bloom the first year if started early in the year.

Buddleia is slow to get growing in the spring so mark the plant location and give it time. Once it starts growing it grows very quickly and makes a large shrub in one season. Make sure you allow plenty of room for the plant when it is at it's largest in late summer. In zones 5 and 6 Butterfly Bush usually dies to the ground each year. Since buddleia forms its blooms on this years wood, cutting the plants back to a foot above the ground each

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