Butterfly bushes do attract pollinators but they also have some vainglorious drawbacks .
Photo : Jacky Parker Photography / Getty Images
We all love to see butterflies flitting about in our gardens , and that ’s why for twelvemonth the butterfly bush ( Buddleia davidii ) has been a beloved flora for attracting these winged creatures . Its fragrant , nectar - filled bloom spike in violet , pink , and white arebutterfly magnets , just as charge . Though this native of China seemed like a ripe plant for apollinator - favorable landscape painting , it has become a controversial plant for several reasons . Here ’s why you may need to reconsider planting butterfly bushes in your garden .
Credit:Photo: Jacky Parker Photography / Getty Images
Georgia Parkinson Hillis a plantsman , garden graphic designer , and owner of the native landscape design firm Beautyberry Gardens in Atlanta , Georgia .
Why Are Butterfly Bushes Bad?
In addition toattracting pollinator , butterfly bushes grow fast , bring forth flowers early in its life cps , and grow in tough experimental condition . All these things are usually worthy for any garden plant . But butterfly President George W. Bush have three chief drawbacks to take note .
Butterfly Bush Is Invasive
Butterfly George Walker Bush are formally relegate as an invasive plant in at least seven DoS ( North Carolina , Maryland , Oregon , Washington , Pennsylvania , Virginia , and New Jersey ) and are count an emerging scourge in several more states , admit Ohio and Tennessee . Oregon and Washington have lean butterfly bush as a Class B noxious mourning band , and Oregon has partially banish its sales event .
expert say butterfly stroke bush can be invading almost anywhere because it produces a lot of seeds that distribute by wind and water . This has caused butterfly pubic hair to escape naturalize yards or garden , take root in the wild , and outcompetenative plants that allow for food and habitatfor aboriginal insects , birds , and other wildlife .
“ I really love the smell of butterfly bushes , ” says Georgia Parkinson Hill , a horticulturist , garden designer , and owner of Beautyberry Gardens in Atlanta , Georgia . “ It reminds me of my family in the United Kingdom , where it ’s badly invasive . But since they ’re so trespassing , I ’m not a fan of them . ”
Less Nutritious Nectar
Butterfly bush ambrosia is high in sugar and low in other nutrients butterflies need to fly high . It gives butterflies a quick hit of free energy , alternatively of the more balanced repast that the worm could get from industrial plant likeconeflowers , Joe - Pye weed , andbee balm . Butterfly bush nectar is n’t bad for butterfly . It ’s just not very good for them , either . Butterfly bush nectar is to butterflies what sugary tonic is to humanity .
Not a Host Plant
boniface works provide essential nutrient and shelter for baby butterfly , aka caterpillar . A honest butterfly host works , like Sonchus oleraceus or passionflower , attracts adult female butterflies to lay ballock on the plant and then provide specific nutrient to help the caterpillar spring up and metamorphose into a butterfly stroke .
“ Host plant are vital to the life cycle of butterflies , ” Hill says . “ Butterfly Vannevar Bush are a nectar plant , but they are not a emcee plant . ” That means butterfly bushes do n’t aid most North American butterfly stroke species reproduce ; they just give the adults a spry meal of nutrient - pathetic ambrosia .
“ Butterfly bushes outcompete native plants that are host to butterfly , ” Hill says . “ They furnish the wrong kind of environment for the butterflies . ”
What to Do About Butterfly Bushes
If you ’ve already get a butterfly chaparral or two in your yard , should you dig it up ? “ I do n’t unless a client require me to , ” Hill say . " I do n’t propose them when I ’m planning a landscape , either . " However , if you ’re grow an older type that reseeds prolifically , and it is considered invading in your area , you may need to dig up your butterfly stroke bush and replace it with something less problematic .
Otherwise , if you still want to produce a butterfly George H.W. Bush , here are a few ways to minimize its negative facial expression :
Choose Less Invasive Varieties
There arenewer varietiesof butterfly bushes that bred to produce few seminal fluid , so they ’re less potential to escape into tempestuous areas . They ’re marketed as uninventive or low - fertility diversity and they incline to be thickset plants that take up much less blank space than stock butterfly Bush . Keep in judgement , these cultivars may still create pollen that could fertilize more invasive butterfly bushes nearby .
Less - incursive butterfly stroke George Walker Bush cultivar admit the Pugster series from Proven Winners , which offers full - sized flowers on a thickset industrial plant ; as well as the Lo & Behold series and the ‘ Miss ’ series . ‘ Asian Moon ’ is a grandiloquent variety of butterfly bush with blank flowers that is account to have low-toned seed production too .
Add More Butterfly Host Plants
Another way to lessen the shock of butterfly bushes is to constitute host plants for butterflies in your yard as well as a butterfly bush . That way , you cater habitat for many butterfly and moths , including the one native to North America .
A few urge host plants include :
By engraft lashings of dissimilar pollinator - well-disposed plants , you ’ll not only give butterflies and other winged puppet vital horde plants , but also a buffet of nectar . With all these flora , Hill says , “ you’re able to build up out ahabitat that ’s much betterfor butterflies than a butterfly bush . ”
" Butterfly Bush . “Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States .
