How to Grow a Butterfly Bush

If you want to attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden, the butterfly bush is for you. Also called buddleia, this easily grown perennial has narrow branches and clusters of flowers that can grow 1- to 2-feet long. The honey-scented blossoms are not always tidy, but they are a effective lure. Read the following tips before planting.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Choose a planting area in full sun with moist, well-drained soil. Cultivate to a depth of 12 to 15 inches with a spade or tiller and amend the soil with rich compost.

2. Dig holes that are twice the diameter of the potted plant and 5 to 10 feet apart. These bushes grow 5- to 10-feet tall and wide and look best at the back of the perennial garden.

3. Remove the plant carefully from the pot and plant at the same level in the ground. Gently fill in around the root ball with loose soil, add a thin layer of mulch and water thoroughly.

4. Top dress the butterfly bush with compost and additional mulch each spring. Feed at this time with a light application of all purpose fertilizer.

5. Water deeply a few times in the summer if there is less than 1 inch of rainfall per week.

6. Promote more blooms and a bushier plant by pruning almost to the ground in spring before new growth appears.

Tips & Warnings

• The wild, unruly look of the butterfly bush makes it a good choice to grow in a cottage garden.
• Keep this plant from becoming invasive by removing volunteer seedlings when they first appear.