How Large Does a Butterfly Bush Get?

The butterfly bush is a tall, hardy shrub.

The butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii) is a popular landscaping shrub due to its ease of care and large size. A mature butterfly bush grows up to 15 feet tall in good growing conditions, and is an attractive and beneficial plant.

Variation

The many different butterfly bush cultivars vary in size. Some cultivars, like Ellen's blue, are much smaller and more compact than the common butterfly bush. Others, such as the black night cultivar, are very large bushes that easily grow more than 15 feet tall.

Appearance

Butterfly bushes are popular not only for their size, but also for their colorful display of summer flowers. Numerous large flower spikes appear on the edges of individual branches in mid-summer and continue to bloom into fall. The flowers range in color from purple to white, depending on the cultivar.

Benefits

In addition to filling space in the garden, the large size of a butterfly bush allows it to produce numerous flowers at a range of heights that attract beneficial insects and birds. As their name suggests, the fragrant flowers of the butterfly bush are a biological magnet for butteries as well as hummingbirds.

References

• Clemson University Cooperative Extension: Butterfly Bush
• Ohio State University: Butterfly Bush
• Maryland Cooperative Extension: Butterfly Bush Production and Consumer Care
• Virginia Tech: Butterfly Bush