Butterfly Bush

Tomstrees · April 14, 2008

Hey everyone - hope all is well.

Last fall, I went to visit my parents in Cape May (vacationing) and the house they were renting had a beautiful butterfly bush in the back.

It wasn't the traditional purple one, it was yellow.

So I took some cuttings and to my surprise, they sprouted roots!
So after potting them up and keeping an eye on them, I finally got them out into the shed and actually planted 1 of them in a prepared bed this past weekend.

Any special care to give to these super cool plants?

Thanks, Tom

jungseed · April 14, 2008

You know there is a dark red version also? It's called Asclepias incarnata (Soul Mate)
They are pretty carefree. Grows in zones 3-9. Says drought resistant, plant in full sun. Flowers from early July through August followed by milkweed type seed pods used for dried arrangements. Tolerates poor, sandy soils. Height can vary from 18 to 36 inches. They are slow to appear in spring, so mark their location well.
Sounds pretty easy to me.

jungseed · April 14, 2008

Oops, you knew about the dark red one, there is yellow, orange and dark red. Sorry about that.

gssgarden · April 14, 2008

I have a few myself in the yard. 1 yellow, 1 white, 2 dark purple and 3 pinkish. The yellow one is the 'Honeycomb' variety. Mine grows about 5' -6' and flowers most of the year. The only work I do to it is dead-head some of the flower heads after a while. Since it's near my front porch, I like it to look as best as possible. Here in NC, I trim it in the winter months when ever I get to it. I can hack it down as low as I want and it always returns. Butterflies and bees love it.
One note, my Honeycomb flowers are not as big as my other Butterfly bushes flowers. About three to four inches compared to 6 or 7 inches on the purples. My white is also small. I think that's a trait of it since I've seen this before. Not to worry though as it pumps them out all summer.

Greg

strmywthr3 · April 14, 2008

Tom is referreing to buddlei - butterfly bush and you are talking about butterfly weed.....2 totally diff plants.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jungseed

You know there is a dark red version also? It's called Asclepias incarnata (Soul Mate)
They are pretty carefree. Grows in zones 3-9. Says drought resistant, plant in full sun. Flowers from early July through August followed by milkweed type seed pods used for dried arrangements. Tolerates poor, sandy soils. Height can vary from 18 to 36 inches. They are slow to appear in spring, so mark their location well.
Sounds pretty easy to me.

Tomstrees · April 14, 2008

look at all of these !!!

http://www.springmeadownursery.com/plants_buddleia.htm

~ Tom

jungseed · April 14, 2008

Thanks, your right. It really has been that kind of day. But the sun is shining. Butterfly bush comes in alot of different colors. They are 4 to 6 foot tall plants. Cutting back before spring growth starts that was suggested is also a good thing to do. it will stimulate earlier and more flowering. They should be cut back to 6 to 10 inches. Plant in full sun.

Tomstrees · April 15, 2008

seems like the transplant is taking - no new growth but is still green

~ Tom

Tomstrees · June 9, 2008

My cuttings have transplanted well and are really taking off now!

This is a picture of the yellow variety:

~ Tom

jenn_sc · June 9, 2008

The bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds ought to be really happy about those flowers! I love butterfly bush, but don't have any...yet

Do you plant anything else for butterflies? I always grow extra parsley and dill for host plants.

Tomstrees · June 9, 2008

Hey Jen ! Hope all is well ...

I'm a perennial "tall flower kind of guy", here are some other attractors at our place!

~ Tom

Tomstrees · August 5, 2008

We got blooms on our butterfly bush !!! The yellow flowers are sooo cool - will post pics !

~ Tom

Barbee · August 5, 2008

Butterfly bush is a perennial sub shrub. This means it is technically a perennial, but gets large woody stems like a shrub. In my zone 6 area, it dies back in winter and in very late spring, it starts putting out new growth. I cut mine down really short in early spring and every year, I think it's dead. Everything else is putting on new growth and it sits there, looking like toast. Eventually it takes off. So if it looks dead next spring, don't assume that you've killed it. Give it till mid June or so to start greening up. For what it's worth, I've found that the yellow is not quite as hardy as the blacks/purples/reds/whites.

Tomstrees · August 12, 2008

yeah - we barely get frost in our area ... It snowed a total of 1 time in 2007-2008. I had parsley come back !!! That's how little killing frost we have!

Also, the yellow butterfly bush is cranking out the blooms now. Will snap a pic soon. I will cut it down come fall as this will be its first "winter" at its new location. Its spent its first winter "rooting" in my windowsill. Time will tell.

~ Tom

Tomstrees · August 15, 2008

here is a pic of one of the flower clusters ... This bush has grown "wirey" so I'm def. gonna have to "train" it ...

~ Tom

April 14, 2008	#1
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	Butterfly Bush Hey everyone - hope all is well. Last fall, I went to visit my parents in Cape May (vacationing) and the house they were renting had a beautiful butterfly bush in the back. It wasn't the traditional purple one, it was yellow. So I took some cuttings and to my surprise, they sprouted roots! So after potting them up and keeping an eye on them, I finally got them out into the shed and actually planted 1 of them in a prepared bed this past weekend. Any special care to give to these super cool plants? Thanks, Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

April 14, 2008	#6
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	look at all of these !!! http://www.springmeadownursery.com/plants_buddleia.htm ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

April 15, 2008	#8
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	seems like the transplant is taking - no new growth but is still green ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

June 9, 2008	#9
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	My cuttings have transplanted well and are really taking off now! This is a picture of the yellow variety: ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

June 9, 2008	#11
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	Hey Jen ! Hope all is well ... I'm a perennial "tall flower kind of guy", here are some other attractors at our place! ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale Last edited by Tomstrees; August 5, 2008 at 08:45 AM. Reason: pics

April 14, 2008	#2
jungseed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Pardeeville, WI Posts: 318	You know there is a dark red version also? It's called Asclepias incarnata (Soul Mate) They are pretty carefree. Grows in zones 3-9. Says drought resistant, plant in full sun. Flowers from early July through August followed by milkweed type seed pods used for dried arrangements. Tolerates poor, sandy soils. Height can vary from 18 to 36 inches. They are slow to appear in spring, so mark their location well. Sounds pretty easy to me.

April 14, 2008	#4
gssgarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: N.C. Posts: 1,827	I have a few myself in the yard. 1 yellow, 1 white, 2 dark purple and 3 pinkish. The yellow one is the 'Honeycomb' variety. Mine grows about 5' -6' and flowers most of the year. The only work I do to it is dead-head some of the flower heads after a while. Since it's near my front porch, I like it to look as best as possible. Here in NC, I trim it in the winter months when ever I get to it. I can hack it down as low as I want and it always returns. Butterflies and bees love it. One note, my Honeycomb flowers are not as big as my other Butterfly bushes flowers. About three to four inches compared to 6 or 7 inches on the purples. My white is also small. I think that's a trait of it since I've seen this before. Not to worry though as it pumps them out all summer. Greg

June 9, 2008	#10
jenn_sc SPLATT™ Coordinator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Florence, SC Posts: 502	The bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds ought to be really happy about those flowers! I love butterfly bush, but don't have any...yet Do you plant anything else for butterflies? I always grow extra parsley and dill for host plants.

August 5, 2008	#12
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	We got blooms on our butterfly bush !!! The yellow flowers are sooo cool - will post pics ! ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

August 5, 2008	#13
Barbee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 1,818	Butterfly bush is a perennial sub shrub. This means it is technically a perennial, but gets large woody stems like a shrub. In my zone 6 area, it dies back in winter and in very late spring, it starts putting out new growth. I cut mine down really short in early spring and every year, I think it's dead. Everything else is putting on new growth and it sits there, looking like toast. Eventually it takes off. So if it looks dead next spring, don't assume that you've killed it. Give it till mid June or so to start greening up. For what it's worth, I've found that the yellow is not quite as hardy as the blacks/purples/reds/whites. __________________ *Barbee*

August 12, 2008	#14
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	yeah - we barely get frost in our area ... It snowed a total of 1 time in 2007-2008. I had parsley come back !!! That's how little killing frost we have! Also, the yellow butterfly bush is cranking out the blooms now. Will snap a pic soon. I will cut it down come fall as this will be its first "winter" at its new location. Its spent its first winter "rooting" in my windowsill. Time will tell. ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale

August 15, 2008	#15
Tomstrees Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NJ Bayshore Posts: 3,848	here is a pic of one of the flower clusters ... This bush has grown "wirey" so I'm def. gonna have to "train" it ... ~ Tom __________________ My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~ H. Fred Ale