Buddleia Care Tips from the Pros!

Butterfly Candy® Buddleia makes it easy to invite season after season of bright blooms and buzzing pollinators into your yard. But even these easy-care plants can benefit from a handful of pro tips. To help you get the most out of your flowering powerhouses, we’ve gathered some helpful how-tos from two of our favorite garden gurus: HortTube’s Jim Putnam and Jenny Simpson of Creekside Nursery.

Choose the Right Spot

The first step to a happy butterfly bush is choosing a location with plenty of sunlight. Jim recommends at least 6-8 hours of sun each day, as butterfly bush grown in too much shade can become stretched and produce fewer flowers. Jenny’s tip? Buddleia loves the heat, and summer is a good time to get them in the ground because they're actively growing and establishing roots.

Get Watering Right

Butterfly Candy is drought-tolerant once established, but Jenny recommends paying attention during prolonged dry periods. “An established plant can go quite a while without water, but extended drought can take a toll on flowering and overall performance,” she advises. Jim recommends moist, well-drained conditions and even grows butterfly bush in heavy clay soil. “In my garden,” says Jim, “I slightly mound the plants to help prevent them from staying too wet.”

Prune for More Flowers

A little pruning can go a long way. For his Zone 7 garden in Raleigh, Jim gives his Butterfly Candy shrubs a harder pruning in early to mid-March, before new growth begins, and cuts them back to less than 12” tall. During the growing season, Jenny removes spent flower heads in her Dallas, North Carolina garden to encourage new growth and branching, which can lead to additional flowers. She also occasionally cuts her butterfly bushes back during summer to help control their size. Butterfly Candy varieties are naturally compact, but a little shaping can help you achieve the exact dimensions you’re aiming for with ease.

Be a 360˚ Butterfly Beacon

Butterfly Candy provides a valuable source of nectar for butterflies and other pollinators, but adding caterpillar host plants together with butterfly bush can bring a whole new level of benefits for pollinators! To make your garden a butterfly beacon, pair Butterfly Candy, which can feed adult butterflies, with the host plants that help butterfly species complete their life cycle, like milkweed for monarchs, passionvine for fritillaries, and fennel for swallowtails. 

Enjoy a Long Season of Color

One of the biggest benefits of Butterfly Candy is its extended bloom season from spring through the first frost, providing months of color and nectar for pollinators. The five Butterfly Candy varieties also offer a range of shades, giving gardeners plenty of options from the soft pink of Li’l Taffy™ to the bright purple of Li'l Grape™ or the crisp, clean white blooms of Li'l Coconut™. Jenny recommends planting them en masse, in borders, containers, and even near high-traffic areas where the colorful blooms and flutter of pollinators can be enjoyed.

Want to Learn More?

Follow along as Jenny walks you through Butterfly Candy planting tips and why fall is the ideal time to add new shrubs to your garden!