My First Encounter with Buddleia
My first exposure to Buddleias, or butterfly bushes, was at a nursery in Cornelius, OR. It was a big grower of Proven Winners Color Choice shrubs so there was a tremendous number of new products for me to learn. One of those was their line of Buddleias.
At the time, we had Lo & Behold Purple Haze, Lo & Behold Blue Chip Jr., Miss Molly, Miss Violet, and I think Miss Ruby too. I recall that Miss Molly and Miss Violet varieties had been mixed in the bed, leaving a smattering of deep-purple plants scattered through the soft pink of Miss Molly like the pattern of a shotgun blast. It was an easy sort, although it had to be done in full bloom while the colors were obvious so the pollinators were busy at work. It seemed like there were a million bees but we got it done without incident. Honey bees are sweethearts as long as you treat them nicely. After that, there were no problems with mixed Butterfly Bushes and we were able to push them with confidence.
I have heard that Butterfly Bushes are semi-perennial, meaning they act like a woody ornamental but can die back to the ground in a harsh winter. In the Willamette Valley of Oregon, we don’t get cold enough to really experience a perennial Butterfly Bush. They typically grow like any other woody ornamental with new growth coming off the old growth. I did have the opportunity to see what happens when you use the wrong herbicide on them once. We used some particularly tough herbicide one spring and cooked off all the soft, new foliage. With a little activated charcoal and some hearty liquid feed, they were sellable again within a month or so.
The whole episode showed me how resilient Buddleias can be. I’m glad that we only grew sterile varieties because the original species, Buddleia davidii, produces thousands of seeds each year. That sounds incredibly difficult to manage, and I can only imagine what it’d do to the broader ecosystem wherever it was planted. It kind of reminds me of burning bush, which is so pretty in the fall but tough as nails and incredibly invasive.
I go back and forth on which is my favorite. Miss Violet brings a strong purple but Pink Micro Chip is super dwarf and has hot pink flower clusters. They’re both gorgeous and fit different applications. Really, all the Buddleia varieties I’ve seen from Proven Winners are beautiful. I like a variety from the University of Arkansas that is called Asian Moon. It has a lovely, soft periwinkle color. I can say from my observation that honeybees love it too! Between Buddleias’ resilience, vivid colors, and ability to draw pollinators, it’s easy to see why they continue to earn their place in the landscape.
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