Beautiful Buddleias

Gardening Tips for Spring

Attract birds to your yard with bird feeders. Delightful gold finches will visit thistle feeders, and rufous-sided towhees will visit seed feeders. Turn in cover crops now to prepare for planting your summer garden in two to three weeks. Plant summer-flowering bulbs such as glads, dahlias, callas, cannas, and lilies soon for summer blooms. Fertilize established roses and begin spraying them for insect and disease problems—neem oil is an effective, natural option for both. Tomatoes and peppers can be set out now, but be ready to cover them if cold weather returns.

Attracting Butterflies with Buddleias

Bring butterflies to your garden with Buddleias, commonly known as butterfly bushes. These hardy, easy-to-grow shrubs thrive in flower borders or as focal points in large areas. During their long flowering period, they produce large, dense panicles of fragrant flowers in stunning colors, attracting butterflies like monarchs, swallowtails, and fritillaries. Hummingbirds also visit buddleias, making them ideal for close-up enjoyment.

Uses and Varieties

• Dwarf types (3–4 feet tall and wide): Perfect for patio containers and small planting areas.
• Compact varieties (6 feet tall): Ideal for perennial or mixed borders, small gardens, or large containers.
• Larger types (8–12 feet tall): Best for backgrounds or tall shrub borders; can also serve as a colorful hedge.

Buddleias are forgiving plants, tolerating most well-drained soils and drought. While they flower best in full sun, they also bloom in light or filtered shade.

Popular Cultivars

• Buddleia davidii: Large, wide-spreading shrubs with long flower clusters from June to fall. Colors include:
  • ‘Pink Delight’ (true pink)
  • ‘Royal Red’ (wine-purple)
  • ‘Black Knight’ (dark purple)
• ‘Nanho’ varieties: Half the height of the species, with smaller leaves and flower clusters.
• Special varieties:
  • ‘Lochinch’: Lavender flowers with silvery gray leaves; pairs well with pastels like asters and summer phlox.
  • ‘Empire Blue’: Deep violet-blue blooms on 5-foot-tall plants.
  • Buzz™ hybrids: True dwarfs (4 feet tall) with fragrant flowers in lavender, magenta, purple, or white.

Care and Pruning

• Feed and water container plants regularly.
• Deadhead faded flowers to prolong blooming.
• Prune in early spring (buddleias bloom on new growth) to control size and shape. Cut back to 12–18-inch stubs for larger flowers.
• Deadhead during the flowering season to encourage maximum blooms.

While butterfly bushes have an unruly appearance, they are a wonderful addition to any yard with ample sunshine and space.