Plant This, Not That: Replacing Butterfly Bush — Audubon Society of Northern Virginia (2024)

FAQs

What to plant instead of a butterfly bush? ›

Native substitutes for Butterfly Bush

For sunny, open garden or landscape plantings, try Sweet Pepperbush, also called Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia) or Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica). For wetter soils, try Buttonbush (Cephalanthis occidentalis)—a food source for moths—or New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus).

Fortunately, there are great choices available. My personal top choice is Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis). This 6-to-12-foot-high shrub sets fabulous cylindrical white flowers that attract not only butterflies, but bees, hummingbirds and songbirds, as well as serving as host plant for two kinds of Lepidoptera.

It is planted so extensively that it commonly escapes from gardens and is invasive through much of the U. S., including Arlington and Alexandria in Northern Virginia.

Think of chaste tree (Vitex agnus–castus) as an equally showy but less invasive alternative to the ubiquitous butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii).

But without regular pruning, butterfly bushes can become sparse, and flowering can diminish, leaving next to nothing for pollinators.

Chemical control: Controlling butterfly bush by spraying with a brush-control herbicide is somewhat effective, but for better results, cut the trunk off at the base and apply concentrated glyphosate (such as in Roundup) or triclopyr (such as in Garlon or Brush B Gon) to the freshly cut surface.

Moisten the soil around the shrub and dig up the clump. Separate sections of roots with some shoots and replant them in a similar location in compost amended soil. Butterfly Bushes can also be propagated by stem cuttings.

Flowers are produced on new growth, so size can be controlled by cutting back quite hard in early spring, just before leaf buds begin to grow. While pruning is not absolutely necessary, butterfly bushes tend to bloom better and keep a better shape if pruned hard each spring.

The good news is that plant breeders have been hard at work, and in the last few years have come up with a new generation of butterfly bushes – ones that are both compact and sterile, meaning less work and no invasiveness.

Butterfly bushes can pose other problems. They can get root rot if the soil isn't well-drained, and their height — up to 10 feet tall — can overshadow and crowd out smaller plants in the garden and look unruly. It's important to consider these potential problems before deciding to grow a butterfly bush.

What are the most invasive plants in Virginia? ›

Washington isn't the only place where butterfly bush is a problem. England and New Zealand, as well as several states on the Eastern seaboard, recognize B. davidii as an environmental threat. Oregon put it on its noxious weed list earlier this year.

Above the native prairie plants — culver's root, aster, boneset, coreopsis, milkweed, ironweed and American senna — the sound of wings can be heard 10 feet away.

The fibrous root system of the butterfly bush is rather shallow, taking advantage of the available water and nutrients close to the topsoil. The shrub could grow to four meters or 6 to 12 feet tall and spread a good four to five meters or 4 to 15 feet across.

When & Where to Plant Butterfly Bush. Light: Butterfly bushes grow and flower best in full sun. They will grow fine in part shade, especially in warmer climates, but their flowering may be reduced. Soil: Butterfly Bushes are not particular about the soil conditions, as long as it drains well.

Butterfly bushes come in 2 general categories- a “larger” size that grows between 3 to 5 feet in width and 5 to 10 feet in height and the “dwarf” size that grows between 2 to 4 feet in width and 2 to 4 feet in height.