Butterfly Bush Care and tips for success

Looking for an attractive long blooming plant that will attract butterflies and beneficial insects to your landscape? Look no further, butterfly bush, (buddleia davidii) is your answer.

These blooming machines offer long spiked trusses of flowers in masses which bloom from June through Fall. Various colors from white, pink, red, light lavender to dark purple are available in all sizes with more varieties coming out each and every year.

Tried and true, these plants are pretty easy to take care of. Plant in full sun to a partially shaded location. At least 5-6 hours of sun is ideal for these plants. They like a well drained soil rich in compost to aid in fertilizing the plant. If you plant in poor soil, amend with soil conditioner(aged pine bark mulch) and compost of any sort at 1/3 ratio mixed with native soil. If the area you are planting retains moisture, consider creating a raised bed area so the roots will not rot from being too wet.

These “summer lilacs” as they are called come in many sizes.

Old time varieties of butterfly bush can reach 6-8’ in height by 5-6’ wide. Varieties such as Royal Red, Pink Delight and Dark Knight are taller varieties which are as old as the hills. I have seen flowers as long as 12-14” on these plants. They make a statement and are all great varieties.

As plants evolve, newer varieties are released. Smaller 4-5’ tall and wide varieties with the same large flowers as the original types such as the “Buzz” series offers varieties such as Ivory-white, Magentared, Sky Blue-lavender, Rapsberry-red or Velvetred and Midnight-dark purple are all great new introductions.

And we can not forget the “Pugster” series. This smaller plant 2-3’ tall and wide offers full size flowers on its compact plant. Colors available are amethyst, blue, pink and white. Quite a nice impressive little plant.

If you are looking for shorter varieties which grow 24-30” tall and wide, then the Lo and Behold series is for you .... Ice chip-white, blue chip and blue chip jr.-bluish lavender as well as new ruby chip-red are great for containers or areas you need a small burst of color.

Two other varieties I like are Santana which offers a variegated yellow and green leaf with red flowers as well as Miss Molly which has an interesting almost fluorescent red flower. These variety can get 4-5’ tall and wide.

Once you select your variety, and have planted your plant properly, make sure you water thoroughly at a slow trickle on hot dry days until your plants get established. Always check to see if the soil is moist before deciding to water. To keep your plants flowering, dead head or remove the spent flowers by clipping them off with a pair of pruners. This will get new flowers forming quickly.

Winter maintenance is easy. After a hard killing freeze when leaves begin to fall off. Prune your plant down to 12- 18” tall. As butterfly bushes bloom on new growth they will appreciate this pruning come spring. If you have planted in an exposed area where winter winds may be a factor, try using a styrofoam rose cone placed over the top of the plant . This cone helps keep ground temperature in and helps avoid the drying winter winds from killing your plants. If you can not find rose cones, make a circle out of chicken wire and fill with leaves to help protect these plants. Adding a 2” layer of a good organic compost of any kind around the base of your butterfly bush will help also.

Butterfly bushes are also deer resistant! Deer seem to be getting more destructive each year so this offers a great plant they typically do not touch. If you want to experience something very cool, head out to our nursery the next sunny day. 100’s of butterflies can be seen in our butterfly bush area. Its a great photo op and children will absolutely love it. We even had one of our employees have a butterfly land on her nose and stay there for a long time. Not sure I can promise you that experience, but you never know. Our next pest attacking lawns this past week are ARMYWORMS. These rotten creatures can destroy a lawn seemingly overnight. Once you see the damage, it’s too late!

So how do you know if you have them? Take a 5 gallon bucket, fill it with water, then add a 1/2 teaspoon of dawn liquid dish soap. Dump in an area maybe 2 feet by 2 feet. The army worms will come to the surface within 60 seconds if not quicker. These green worms with long stripes can be 1-1.5” long and if you examine the head of it, you can see an inverted “y” in that area.

If your lawn is thick and beautiful and notice some thinning, this may be an early sign of army worms. Check by using the method listed above.

If you do have armyworms or your neighbor does, I would treat your lawn. We have had so many of my clients come in this past week. Some say you could see the “army” marching and killing their lawns from day to day.

So what should you use? I like Bug Blaster II by hy-yield. Its active ingredient is bifenthrin. An 11.5 pound bag will treat 10,000 square feet. This is a granular product and needs to be put on with a spreader. Water your lawn after application to activate the product. If you have pets, once your lawn dries after you water, it is safe for them to go on the lawn.

If you want a quicker kill, a liquid can be used such as Hy yield’s 38 Plus Turf, Termite and Ornamental insect control or Spinosad from fertilome. The spinosad is an organic product and works on all worms. Hy Yields 38 Plus is permethrin. Mix a 1/4 teaspoon to a gallon of water and spray 1000 sq ft of lawn. A hose end sprayer should be used and either product sprayed on in a sweeping motion so that it covers the whole lawn heavily. It is a bit more tedious to apply to the lawn but will yield quicker results. Armyworms will start to die within a couple hours. Timing of sprays is important. The best time is just as day breaks. This seems to be when they are most active.

Keep in mind, moths lay hundreds of eggs in masses. Development of eggs can take 2-4 weeks so it is possible to have up to 4 generations each fall. Keep monitoring your lawn for the next generation. Be prepared to take action if the next generation attacks.

Our next pest attacking lawns this past week are ARMYWORMS. These rotten creatures can destroy a lawn seemingly overnight. Once you see the damage, it’s too late!

So how do you know if you have them? Take a 5 gallon bucket, fill it with water, then add a 1/2 teaspoon of dawn liquid dish soap. Dump in an area maybe 2 feet by 2 feet. The army worms will come to the surface within 60 seconds if not quicker. These green worms with long stripes can be 1-1.5” long and if you examine the head of it, you can see an inverted “y” in that area.

If your lawn is thick and beautiful and notice some thinning, this may be an early sign of army worms. Check by using the method listed above.

If you do have armyworms or your neighbor does, I would treat your lawn. We have had so many of my clients come in this past week. Some say you could see the “army” marching and killing their lawns from day to day.

So what should you use? I like Bug Blaster II by hy-yield. Its active ingredient is bifenthrin. An 11.5 pound bag will treat 10,000 square feet. This is a granular product and needs to be put on with a spreader. Water your lawn after application to activate the product. If you have pets, once your lawn dries after you water, it is safe for them to go on the lawn.

If you want a quicker kill, a liquid can be used such as Hy yield’s 38 Plus Turf, Termite and Ornamental insect control or Spinosad from fertilome. The spinosad is an organic product and works on all worms. Hy Yields 38 Plus is permethrin. Mix a 1/4 teaspoon to a gallon of water and spray 1000 sq ft of lawn. A hose end sprayer should be used and either product sprayed on in a sweeping motion so that it covers the whole lawn heavily. It is a bit more tedious to apply to the lawn but will yield quicker results. Armyworms will start to die within a couple hours. Timing of sprays is important. The best time is just as day breaks. This seems to be when they are most active.

Keep in mind, moths lay hundreds of eggs in masses. Development of eggs can take 2-4 weeks so it is possible to have up to 4 generations each fall. Keep monitoring your lawn for the next generation. Be prepared to take action if the next generation attacks. Thanks for reading.