Pruning Butterfly Bush (2024)

FAQs

What time of year do you cut back butterfly bushes? ›

Butterfly bushes should be cut back to a foot tall to promote new growth and the best blooms. You can cut the shrub back to ground level; however, you take the risk of late frost or freeze killing new growth and losing the plant. Hard pruning is done in late February or early March depending on your climate.

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

You need to deadhead it: Deadheading works very well when it comes to enticing new blooms on the butterfly bush. Once the blooms start to look dry and slightly withered, it starts to look a bit sad, and you can give the shrub a chance to push out another round of blooms with some thorough deadheading.

Buddleia, also referred to as the butterfly bush, can be selectively cut back to a height of 12 to 18 inches above the ground. Any large, woody stems should be cut back to the ground, encouraging new fresh growth in their place.

Typically, a butterfly bush will live about 10 years. You may find some plants that live longer than that, but it's a rare case. Proper care of a butterfly bush will help it live longer and thrive in your garden.

Failing to prune, especially for large butterfly bushes, can lead to plants that are too tall and have leggy growth and fewer flowers, since the plant needs energy just to feed the leaves on long stems.

Butterfly bush bloom on new wood so as long as you have plenty of sunlight, you'll get lots of blooms throughout the summer by pruning in the spring. Butterfly bushes do not need to be pruned every year.

Butterfly Bush Care

Fertilizing isn't usually necessary, as it encourages foliage at the expense of flowers. You can prune your bushes anytime, and you will probably need to prune a few times each summer to keep them under control. Keep faded flowers deadheaded to encourage more blooms.

It's also one of the reasons that we particularly love the Proven Winners butterfly bushes – they bloom all summer without deadheading. Older types of butterfly bushes do bloom better if their old blooms are removed, however. You can lightly trim the plant all over to remove them, or remove them individually.

They can also be pruned in summer to encourage new blooms, or just to tame untidy growth. For non-dwarf butterfly bushes, cut back to 12 to 24 inches and remove any dead or broken branches. (Or cut back nearly to the ground. Butterfly bushes will still resprout and bloom!)

What is the best fertilizer for butterfly bushes? ›

Fertilize your Butterfly Bush with a slow-release, organic fertilizer in the growing seasons of spring and summer for best results. We recommend Espoma Holly Tone!

If your butterfly plant has been thriving but suddenly develops crispy brown tips, it might need repotting. This can happen when an indoor plant becomes root bound. Root bound conditions can happen when the plant has grown so many roots that there is no more room to expand.

Typically, a butterfly bush will live about 10 years. You may find some plants that live longer than that, but it's a rare case. Proper care of a butterfly bush will help it live longer and thrive in your garden.

You should expect a continuous bloom on Pugsters from summer to fall; and while deadheading doesn't hurt, it isn't requires with this series. It grows quickly in hot heat and sunny spots. The Pugster series is known for its' sturdy stems and better winter hardiness than other dwarf butterfly bushes.

Compost or bark mulch work well. If you are trying to promote over-wintering of the above ground parts of the plant, you can fence it in with hardware cloth or chicken wire and fill first with 3″ of compost and then to the top with clean straw. This can be removed in mid April or as the frost comes out of the ground.

Butterfly bushes are quite hardy and can transplant easily. Transplanting a butterfly bush is usually accomplished in either spring or fall. Transplant prior to new growth in spring or once its foliage has died down in the fall.