Butterfly Bushes

Butterfly Bushes for Sale at Nature Hills Nursery

Fill your garden with butterflies this season with butterfly bushes from Nature Hills Nursery. We offer a plethora of native plants, including Cinderella Butterfly Weed.

But there is perhaps no plant more popular than these so-called summer lilacs. Butterfly bushes tend to gather the interest of humans, butterflies and hummingbirds. Birds and insects come to harvest their sweet nectar.

You'll just love the full, arched form and bright blues, reds, pinks and purples of the flowers. Cool white blooming cultivars look incredible, too.

But that doesn't mean these attractive shrubs aren't without their fair share of controversy.

Ups and Downs of the Butterfly Bush

This Asian native shrub was introduced as Buddleia to great acclaim in the United States. No one had ever seen so many butterflies visit their gardens.

Then a concern grew that gardeners were perhaps overdoing it with single species plantings of this non-native flowering shrub.

It's very true we should support butterflies with host plants like Swamp Milkweed. A well-balanced design helps through the life cycles as butterflies lay eggs. It also provides caterpillar forage.

If we've learned nothing over the last decade, it's how important pollinators are to our food crops. Mixed garden plantings are critical for their success, aren't they?

Species butterfly bushes do self-seed, and then it was found to cause a problem in certain locations. Once they heard the news, plant scientists started breeding sterile and seedless cultivars that were much better behaved in garden settings.

Nowadays, plant experts are calling Buddleia by a new name: Buddleja. And thankfully, it's once again en vogue.

If there are no state or federal regulations on Buddleja in your area, feel free to mix them into butterfly gardens. They grow into an exceptional nectar resource in garden borders and pollinator gardens.

Nature Hills Nursery Ships Regulated Plants Responsibly

We can't sell Buddleia into all locations, even though many cultivars are now sterile or seedless. That's because we follow every state and federal regulation on invasive plants to the letter.

We were actually the first online nursery to use Plant Sentry, a service that helps block regulated plant materials to off-limit areas. Type in your zip code in our Zone Finder above the Plant Highlights on the product pages. Then add your favorite butterfly bushes to your shopping cart.

If Buddleia performs too well in your local area, the shipment will be blocked by Plant Sentry™. Please shop for plants online with conscientious companies like Nature Hills Nursery.

Read more about our commitment to the environment to understand The True Cost of Low-Priced Plants

Invasive plants hurt the environment. Here's how you can gain peace of mind with Nature Hills and Plant Sentry

We love nature, and will continue to work to protect it. And keep in mind in many locations across the United States, Buddleia behaves just fine.

The nectar-rich blooms provide a bounty for local pollinators in a mixed planting. If you can grow it, please do.

Butterfly Bushes Grow Fast to Bring a Lush Look

We offer a huge selection of butterfly bush plants in the genus Buddleja davidii, along with a lineup of natural hybrids. Ordering from our online storefront is a quick and convenient way to get the plants you want.

There are a range of butterfly bush sizes on the market. Some can reach 1 to 15 feet tall, depending on the cultivar.

Old-fashioned butterfly bushes grew quite large and were a bit rangy in their growth habit. But today's cultivars are poised and offer a stunning visual effect in formal landscapes.

Vase-shaped MONARCH Prince Charming Butterfly Bush blooms for months. It stays tight and makes an excellent specimen or filler to enliven a shrub border.

Filter by mature height and spread to find a plant that works in your garden. Count on these attractive shrubs to perform well in a perennial bed or as a hedge.

You'll be pleased at the results of modern breeding programs. Compact dwarf butterfly bush varieties, like the Pugster White Butterfly Bush, fit perfectly into garden containers. Or try them as a mass planting in small space gardens.

Start a butterfly bush collection. Use dark black butterfly plants like Black Knight Butterfly Bush.

Spice things up with Buzz Hot Raspberry Butterfly Bush. Picture how fabulous a long hedge would look along the back of your patio seating.

Long, Lavish Flowers Are the Hallmark of Showy Butterfly Bushes

Buddlejas emit a honey-scented fragrance that attracts butterflies like moths to a flame. Choose a wild mix of pink, yellow and red butterfly bush — or get all of the above with extravagant Bicolor Butterfly Bush.

Butterfly bushes usually bloom from mid-July through the first frost of fall. The abundant bottle-brush flower spikes exude a honeyed fragrance much like Mount Airy Fothergilla and Little Henry Virginia Sweetspire.

Butterfly bushes are fast growing and fill in well during a single season. Some larger butterfly bushes can reach four to five feet in the second year after planting.

In northern climates, the tops may die back to the ground during the winter. Buddleja is root hardy, and it sprouts new growth from the crown in the spring.

Support Pollinators with Plenty of Flowers in a Diverse Garden

You'll find so many pretty plants to partner with your new butterfly bushes. Go all out with spring-flowering bulbs and perennials, followed by Grand Cascade Butterfly Bush, and late-season hydrangea nearby.

Butterfly Bush is a deciduous shrub that loses its leaves in the fall. Although not an evergreen, it does help spice up the look of your evergreen trees and shrubs. Their exuberant blooms make everything look fresh and lively.

Of course, you'll also have plenty of pretty butterflies to decorate your yard, too. Get more tips with our Garden Blog:

Fundamentals of Pollinator Garden Design

Plants That Feed Your Pollinators

How to Grow Butterfly Bushes

Butterfly bushes are easy to care for and easy to grow in full sun and well-drained soil. They do not require quality soils and can perform very well in marginal soils.

Fast-growing Buddleja tolerates urban pollution and alkaline soils. But they actually prefer a slightly acidic soil with pH between 4.5 to 6, if you have it.

Provide water regularly for best results. Although it's true that butterfly bushes do display sun and drought tolerance once their roots are well established.

Don't forget the Nature Hills Root Booster when you are planting. This life-long symbiotic formula never stops working to support your plants.

Deer don't prefer butterfly bushes. However, we always recommend that you spray repellent on planting day and reapply according to the directions.

Pruning Tips for Butterfly Bushes

Prune your butterfly bushes to the ground in the late fall or early spring. You'll have more prolific, larger blooms on new growth.

Look at the Plant Highlights to get specific cultivar information, as some butterfly bushes bloom on old wood. Deadhead them after they flower to encourage new growth and more flowers.

Butterfly Bush Blooms Make Incredible Cut Flowers

Of course, you can also trim off the bloom panicles once all their tiny flowers are open. Enjoy them indoors as a cut flower; and you'll encourage a flush of new blooms outdoors.

Try a low hedge or backdrop in your cutting garden. The blooms are strong and erect, and they help keep other blooms upright in the vase.

Grow Butterfly Bush in Containers

Decorate a balcony with an easy-care, hardy container garden. You can easily grow the sapphire blooms of petite Lo and Behold Blue Chip Jr. Butterfly Bush in a container.

Select a pot with plenty of drainage holes, and keep container gardens hydrated regularly. Fertilize container gardens after the first year, using a high-quality, slow-release formula for flowering plants.

Mulch is a good idea for containers and in-ground grown plants, as it will help cut down on surface evaporation. Please just pull the mulch back away from touching the stems.

Place Your Order for Exceptional Butterfly Bushes Today

We offer several varieties of butterfly bushes. Click the butterfly bush images, and you'll be taken to individual product pages.

Study the Plant Highlights for sun exposure and soil type to find out where to plant butterfly bush. Or visit Butterfly Bush Planting Instructions.

Grow happy with help from Nature Hills Nursery. Place your order any time of year, and we'll ship your beautiful plants when the time is right for planting in your area. With a history of success that dates back to 2001, our online nursery has sent veritable forests of trees and other plants across North America.

The butterfly bush is a pretty and popular plant that doesn’t tend to stay in stock all that long. If you see one you want, order it right away.

On behalf of butterflies and essential pollinators everywhere, thank you for your thoughtful choice. Now, how about those host plants? Place your order at Nature Hills Nursery today.